


The Betrayal

by AnnaOnTheMoon, GottaHaveAName



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Divorce, F/M, Fluff, Pregnancy, Romance, Stargazer era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-14 18:38:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17513846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOnTheMoon/pseuds/AnnaOnTheMoon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GottaHaveAName/pseuds/GottaHaveAName
Summary: When Jean-Luc visits his pregnant best friend, she discovers her husband has been lying to her.  How will Jean-Luc help Beverly cope with becoming a single mother?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Crave](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17508524) by [AnnaOnTheMoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOnTheMoon/pseuds/AnnaOnTheMoon). 



> Short story A/N - my original version of 'Crave' (when it was supposed to be 'Feet') had Beverly married to Jack. GottaHaveAName came up with a scenario based on that and we ran with it. The first nine lines will be nearly identical for this reason. This was going to be a one-shot, but we kind of let it run away from us....

A very pregnant Beverly Crusher met her best friend at the door to her quarters on Starbase Thirty-Two.  Jean-Luc leaned forward and kissed her cheek “You look beautiful, Beverly.  A true Madonna.”  She huffed. “I don’t feel like one.  I feel like a fat cow. But please, come in.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring Jack along, but he wanted to save his leave for when the baby is born.”  Beverly gave Jean-Luc a funny look.  “What are you talking about? He gets paternity leave.”  Jean-Luc shrugged. “Sorry, Bev. I only know what Jack said.” 

“Can you give me a minute? I need to look something up.  Make yourself comfortable. Did you want a cup of tea?” 

“I never turn it down, but you go ahead. I’ll bring your tea.”  Beverly smiled and sat down in front of her console and searched through the Starfleet handbook file until she found the relevant information for paternity leave.

_Section 632.43 When a Starfleet officer’s spouse, partner, or podmate gives birth, they are entitled to take parental leave, traditionally referred to as maternity or paternity. The amount of time varies by species, but the usual amount granted is twelve months.  Speak with your commanding officer to file the official paperwork which will be cross-checked with the medical records of your spouse, partner, or podmate, assuming they have listed you as the co-parent._

Beverly continued to read the file, which also stated that this time did not affect your personal leave  allotment.  Shy sat back from the console with a frown on her face and glanced over at Jean-Luc, who was reading from a PADD he had produced from his bag. He wouldn’t mind f she made a quick call.  She pressed the comm panel again, punching in the access code that would reach her husband's quarters.

 _"Crusher."_ Jack answered, then paused before rolling his eyes as his pregnant wife’s face filled the screen. _"We just talked, babe."_ Beverly frowned. 

"I know, but I’m looking over the handbook and this doesn't make sense. You have a full year of leave available after the baby is born, even if you have no leave time accrued. Why can't you come now?"

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. _“I just can’t, babe. I’m not even sure if Johnny will let me take my leave when the baby arrives.”_

“Hmm.” 

 _“What does that mean?”_   Beverly glared at her husband.  “Nothing.  I have  to go. Crusher out.” She stabbed at the end transmission button and the screen went blank.  Beverly sat back and looked behind her to her best friend sitting on her sofa.  He held up his hands. “I swear to you, Beverly, I have never told Jack he couldn’t have his full year of paternity.  In fact, he never even brought it up, just asked me to check how much accumulated leave he had.  I’m sorry.” 

“It’s not your fault.  I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you told me why he hadn’t come with you to your meeting.  I’ve seen you and Walker more than my own husband these past few months.”  She sighed and Jean-Luc rose to stand behind her, where he started gently massaging her shoulders.  “Don’t stress yourself out.  I hear it’s bad for the baby.”  She softly smiled and he saw her reflection on her dark comm panel.  “I’ll talk to Jack when I return to the ship.  But for now, can I take you out to dinner?” 

“I’m a fat whale.”

“Ah, but you’re a beautiful whale pregnant with my little niece or nephew.” 

“Flatterer. Where were you thinking?”  Beverly rose to change out of her uniform.  “Want to go to the Captain’s dining room?” 

“Ooh, _fancy_.”  She grinned. “I’ll see if I have anything in my wardrobe that still fits over this” she pointed at her bump.  “Beverly, you will be beautiful no matter what you wear.”  She blushed. 

“I assume you haven’t moved the spare bed out of the other room yet?” 

“I figured I’d keep it in there for you.  The baby will be sleeping in my room at first anyway, so by the time you have to share with them they shouldn’t be waking up in the middle of the night.”  He grinned. “You know I won’t mind if they do.” 

“You say that now.  Hey, what happened to Captain I-don’t-like-children?”  He gently cupped her cheek.  “My best friend decided to have a baby.” 

“Oh.”  He kissed her cheek. “Go change. I’ll do the same.” 

“Twenty minutes?  And I might need your help getting into my shoes.”  He smiled. “Sure. Meet you out here in twenty. No uniforms?”  She nodded. “No uniforms.”

###

The Captain’s dining room was the perfect choice for dinner that evening as it was relatively empty.  “Not many ships docked right now, I guess,” Beverly said as she took in the dining room that was only able to be used by Captains, Admirals, and their guests. 

“Or they simply have chosen to eat elsewhere.  I just thought you might enjoy a quieter meal.”  Beverly snorted. “At least this time Walker isn’t here.” 

“Don’t remind me.  I’m pretty sure they barred him from accompanying me ever again.”

Jean-Luc reached for her hand across the table and held it gently. “Beverly, do you want me to talk to Jack when I get back?”

“As his best friend or as his captain?” 

“Both. Either.  Whichever you think would be more helpful.  As his Captain, I can remind him he is permitted a full twelve months of leave in addition to any accumulated leave he hasn’t taken yet. For example, if we were having a baby, I would have fourteen months of leave to take in addition to the twelve granted for paternity...” he trailed off when he saw a tear roll down Beverly’s cheek.  “Beverly?  Was it something I said?”

“No. Yes,” she floundered. “Hormones.”  He patted her hand and passed her his napkin to dab at her eyes.  “Thanks.” 

The Yeoman serving as a waiter chose that moment to come over to the table.  “Captain Picard, your usual bottle?”  The Yeoman took notice of Beverly’s belly.  “Ah, congratulations Captain, Mrs Picard.  I didn’t know the Captain’s wife was expecting.”  Jean-Luc’s face flushed pink and he opened his mouth to correct the Yeoman, but Beverly gripped his hand and sweetly smiled. “Yes, thank you.”

“I take it you don’t want the wine tonight?”  Jean-Luc shook his head. “No thank you.  Just some lemonade, please.” 

“Jean-Luc, I can have one small glass.  It won’t hurt the baby.”  Jean-Luc smiled at the Yeoman. “You heard the doctor. Two _small_ glasses of....the thirty-seven, if you have it.” 

“Right away, Captain, Doctor.”  The Yeoman hurried away and Beverly burst out laughing. “The look on your face.” 

“Beverly...I’m sorry if people think you’re my wife.”  She grinned. “I’m not.  It’s kind of nice being thought of as the Captain’s wife.  Besides, the Yeoman rotate out of here so quickly, we’ll never see him again.” 

“Hmm. Probably.  I just wouldn’t want...well, I wouldn’t want to upset Jack.”  Beverly waved her hand. “Who cares.  Jack’s being a jerk right now.”  Beverly glanced around the room. “I suppose this is my last fancy meal out for a long time,”  she sighed.

“It doesn’t have to be.  When the baby arrives, I’d be more than happy to babysit so you and Jack could have an evening out.”  Beverly shook her head.  “You doubt my ability to babysit?”

“No. I doubt Jack’s ability to actually be here.”  Jean-Luc frowned. “Fine, then we’ll get a babysitter and _I’ll_ take you out.  But do you _really_ think Jack would miss out on his child’s life?” 

“I don’t know.  He lied to me, Jean-Luc. It’d be one thing if you hadn’t known about paternity leave being available, because why would you, but I would have expected him to look into it once he found out we were having a baby! Or asked me!”  She reached for the slender jug of water on the table and poured herself a goblet and drank half of the glass in one go before continuing. “I’m sorry.  You’re trying to make me feel better, and I’m just ranting and raving about my absent husband.” 

“It’s fine.” 

Their wine was soon brought over and they were read the meal selections for the evening, both settling on a dish from Vulcan. “But instead of tofu, can I have beef?”  Beverly batted her eyes at the Yeoman serving them.

“Uh...sure,”  The Yeoman looked at Jean-Luc.  “I’m fine with the tofu, thank you Yeoman.” 

“It’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”  The Yeoman walked away, shaking his head over pregnancy cravings.  Jean-Luc laughed. “If you wanted beef, why didn’t you pick one of the other dishes?”  She shrugged. “The Vulcan dish sounds good...just with beef.  Don’t look at me. It’s what the baby wants.” 

Jean-Luc chuckled.  “Right.”

After dinner, Beverly asked Jean-Luc to dance with her. “I don’t know if I can still dance, but you know I love it. Please?  We haven’t danced together since...”

“Your wedding, I believe.”  Jean-Luc rose and extended his hand to her.  “You’re the only dance partner I enjoy dancing with.”

“Oh?”

“I never have to worry about stepping on your feet!”  Beverly laughed. “Well, right now I can’t _see_ my feet, so I’m not sure if I would even notice if you did.”  They spun around the room a few more times before Beverly decided her feet had enough. 

“You’ll have to give me another foot massage,”  she winked and Jean-Luc flushed pink, remembering his reaction to her feet in his lap earlier in the day.  She laughed. “Honestly, Jean-Luc. You’re so much fun to wind up.” 

###

Jean-Luc helped Beverly settle for the evening, apologizing for the state of her feet when he pulled her shoes off and saw the marks where they had swollen painfully around the edges. "It's ok, Jean-Luc." She had grasped his hand for a moment. "This is all part of pregnancy."

 He sat quietly for a moment before sighing heavily. "How long has it been since you saw Jack?"

"Three months." Beverly shifted uncomfortably. She put a pillow behind her lower back. "He was here for my three month scan."

 "He hasn't been here since?"

 "No." Beverly scoffed. "I think I'd know if my husband was home." Her expression changed and her voice grew cold. "Why?"

 Picard ran his hand down his face. "He took five days leave two months ago." Jean-Luc looked guilty. "I didn't ask him if he was coming to see you. I just assumed."

“Oh.  I see.”  Beverly turned her face so Jean-Luc wouldn’t see her tears and she folded her hands across her stomach.  Jean-Luc rose and picked up her feet again and began to give them a massage, not caring if his body once again betrayed his feelings towards her.

###

Jean-Luc  sat at the COMM console and drummed his fingers lightly before punching the code that would connect him to his second officer.

 _"Hey, Johnny!"_ Jack smiled at him. _"How was the meeting?"_

"It was a meeting with the admiralty." Picard drew in a steadying breath. "Jack, we need to talk."

_"That's never a good thing. What now?"_

 "Beverly hasn't seen you in months." Jack recoiled from his console.

 "Where did you go when you took leave?"

_"I went to see my wife."_

"Didn't you hear me, Jack? I'm sitting at your console and your wife is sleeping in your bed, probably crying herself to sleep." Jean-Luc's eyes narrowed. "What the hell, Jack?"

 _"I met up with that freighter that hosts the poker tournaments."_ Jack shrank a little in his seat. _"I needed to have a final time out, you know?"_

 "No, I don't know." Jean-Luc couldn't believe the man sitting before him. "How could you...?"

_"I'm like you, Johnny. I never wanted kids or to be tied down. I'm not ready for this."_

 "You're nothing like me, Jack. If I had the love of a woman like Beverly, I'd never let her go. That's what you're doing, isn't it?" Picard scoffed. "You're doing the same thing you did to Emily when we were at the academy. You bastard."

_"No, it's not..."_

"Yes, it is. Out every weekend until you got tired of her and you started to make excuses." His voice became iron. "Do you love her?"

_"Of course."_

 "Jack, just be honest for once." Beverly surprised both men when she spoke from the dark doorway of her room. "I don't know what to believe anymore." Jean-Luc could hear the tears in her voice as he watched his friend look guiltily away. "What do you want from me?"

 _"I don't know."_ Jack's voice barely reached his wife.

"That's not an answer." Beverly stepped from the shadows. Jean-Luc took in her puffy eyes and flushed cheeks before he noticed her tangled hair and old, worn bathrobe. _"What do you want me to say?"_

 "Tell me now what you want. Do you want out?" Her hand shook as she ran it through her curls. "Are you going to come home? Are you going to do this every time you get stressed or feel like life isn't all about you?" She mocked him. "I gotta tell you, that life isn't going to be about you for a long time." Her hand caressed their baby.

 _"I..."_ Jack looked away.

"You can't even look at me and tell me what you want." His eyes snapped to her face as anger filled her voice, making him feel as if she had slapped him.

_"Babe..."_

 "Don't you 'babe' me." She snapped at him. "You either clear leave with your Captain and come home for a week so we can work this out, or don't bother. I'll ship your shit to you and file for divorce."

_"I don't have the leave..."_

"Yes, you do." Her voice returned to the exhausted, weary quiet of before. "That tells me what I need to know."

 _"What about..."_ Jack pointed to their child.

"Don't you worry about us." She scoffed. "You haven't cared how hard it is, and the only reason you care now is because you have an audience." She held her hand. "I'm done. I can't..." her eyes narrowed and she practically snarled at him. "My baby and I will be just fine. Don't worry about us."

_"Will you let me know when it's born, at least?"_

 "Sure. For as much good as it will do." She turned on her heel and stomped back into her room.

"Congratulations, Jack. Well done." Picard slow clapped. "Excuse me, but I am going to go check on a lovely woman who has been mistreated by her jackass of a husband." He hit the end transmission button before going to her door and knocking softly. "Beverly?"

"What?"  Her voice sounded strained.

"Are you alright?"

 "No!"  He sighed.  He was out of his depth.  When Jack had broken things off with Emily, they had been younger and Walker had been the one Emily had cried to, not him.  “Can I come in?” 

“Yes.”  He slid open the door and let out a soft gasp. Beverly was sitting on the floor, clutching her stomach.  “Beverly?” 

“Can you get me my tricorder?  I need....”  She gasped as pain ripped through her.  “Hurry.  Please?  I can’t....I don’t want to...” Tears filled her eyes as Jean-Luc rushed to get her tricorder for her and he crouched next to her on the floor. “Tell me what to do.  I’m here.”  He reached for her hand and grasped it.  “You’ll be ok.  The baby will be ok.  I promise.” 

“Are you suddenly a doctor?”  He grinned and used his free hand to brush her hair back from her face. “No, but I know you.”  Beverly nodded tight-lipped and aimed her tricorder over her stomach.  “I’m ok.  It’s just false labour.”

 _“false_? Looked pretty true to me.”  Beverly managed a small smile.  “It’s like....practice contractions.”  She held out her hands to Jean-Luc.  “Help me get back in bed?” 

“Sure.”  She gripped his hands tightly as another contraction rolled over her. “How long do they last?”

“It varies.  Hopefully, not too long.”  Jean-Luc supported her and helped her get back into bed and he tucked the blanket around her.  “Can I do anything else?  Do you want something to drink?  Tea or warm milk?” 

“Aunt Adel’s milk?”  He smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Sure.  I’ll be right  back.”

“Make it two...stay with me.”  He nodded. 

Out in her living area, he saw her console blinking and he walked over to it.  It was a message from Jack.  His finger hovered over the delete button and he worried about overstepping by deleting it, but then quickly slammed his finger on the button.  If Beverly wanted to be upset with him, he would handle it. 

 _“Ops to Captain Picard?”_ Jean-Luc sighed halfway towards the replicator. “Picard here.”

“ _Sir, I have a call for you from your second officer?”_ Jean-Luc sighed again.  “Put it through to Doctor Crusher’s console in about fifteen minutes.”

_“Sir?”_

“Just...make him stew for a bit.” 

_“Of course, Captain.  I can have the computer play some Klingon opera on hold if you’d like?”_

“Perfect. Thank you, Lieutenant. Picard out.”  Jean-Luc chuckled on his way to the replicator for Beverly, thinking that fifteen minutes of forced Klingon opera was the least the man deserved and replicated two cups of his aunt’s special drink that always helped him sleep as a lad.  He carefully carried the drinks into Beverly’s room.

“Who called?”

“I have a call from Jack, apparently.  Ops put him on hold listening to Klingon opera for fifteen minutes.”  Beverly smiled slightly.  “I hope you aren’t mad at me, but I just deleted a message from him on your console.”  She shook her head and took a sip of her milk.  “No.  Thank you. I don’t want to talk to him or see him ever again.” 

Jean-Luc cocked his head. “Are you sure?  I mean, he might be an arse, but he is the father of your baby...I don’t want you to make any rash decisions.”  Beverly nodded. “I’m sure.  My son and I will be fine.”  Jean-Luc grinned. “It’s a boy?” 

“Yeah. Jack doesn’t know yet because he didn’t come to my last scan, but trust me, my son definitely showed off that he was a boy.”  Jean-Luc laughed.  “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.  Let’s hope with you around as his uncle, he doesn’t grow up to be like his father.”  Jean-Luc gently stroked Beverly’s temple.  “I promise.”  He drained his cup of milk. “Are you going to be ok if I go talk to Jack in the other room?” 

She shrugged.  “Come back when you’re done?”   He smiled. “You’ll be asleep.” 

“That’s ok.  I want you....” she blushed. “I mean, would you stay with me tonight?  Just in case....” 

“Of course.”  He pressed a kiss to her temple.  “I’ll go see what the _salaud_ wants.”

_“Ops to Picard.”_

“Picard here. Is he still waiting.”

_“Yes, Sir.  Should I put it through to you?”_

“Yes. I’m in Doctor Crusher’s quarters.” 

_“Transmitting now, Sir.”_

Jean-Luc stared at his once best friend. “Why are you calling again?”

 _“Do you think she really meant it?”_ Jean-Luc nodded. “You screwed up.  Big time.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Beverly doesn’t have divorce papers ready for you in the morning.  How could you, Jack?” 

 _“Uhhh...”_ Jean-Luc shook his head.

“Yep. You have no sense of responsibility, do you?  It’s no wonder you still haven’t made it any higher than Lieutenant.” 

 _“That was low, Johnny.”_ Jean-Luc pursed his lips and spoke carefully.

“I think you’ll find that it’s Captain.”

 _“So that’s it then? We’re not friends anymore? I_ knew _you would take her side.  You probably can’t wait to get into her pants.”_

“ _Lieutenant._ You’re treading on very thin ice right now.  There are no sides to take.  Beverly is pregnant with _your_ child and if you aren’t going to be there for her, she’s going to need her friends. And right now, I’m doing my very best to remain professional and not call you every dirty name I know in multiple languages.” 

_“Do I still have a job?”_

“That’s largely up to you.  I can maintain a professional relationship with you...but can you?” 

_“I should...I should leave, shouldn’t I?”_

“Speak to Walker about reassignment.  I’m on leave for the next two weeks.” 

“ _You’re going to stay with her, aren’t you?”_ Jean-Luc levelled a gaze directly at his now former best friend and former second officer.  “If that is what Beverly wishes, yes. But mostly, I don’t want to be around you in case I can’t control my urge to hit you. Picard out.”

“Did you mean it?”  Jean-Luc turned to see Beverly standing in her bedroom doorway again, this time with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. He smiled. “You should be in bed, sweetheart.”

Beverly walked up to him and cupped his cheek gently, which he leaned into.  “You’re taking leave?”  He nodded. “If you don’t want me to stay here,  I can get quarters elsewhere or I can leave the station,  but Beverly, I _am_ here for you and will help you.”

“And, when I have the baby?” 

“Here for as long as I can be or as long as you want me to be.  Or if you want to take your maternity leave elsewhere, we can go there.  Do you want me to take you to Caldos?”

“Oh god, no.” Beverly realised she still had her hand cupping his cheek and she flushed and moved it away.  He caught her hand in his.  “Beverly.  Jack doesn’t deserve you.”  Beverly looked down at the floor.  “I wish I had never married him.  But then,  I might not be pregnant and I don’t think I would wish to not be.  Does that make sense?”  He nodded.  “Perfect sense. Now, should we get you in bed again?”

“Will you hold me?”  Jean-Luc leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple.  “Whatever you want, Beverly.” 

“Hmm. Maybe after I get my divorce,”  She pecked his lips and tugged on his hand.  “Is your bag in the other room?”  He nodded.  “My sleep shorts are in there.”

“You don’t need them!” 

 _“Beverly!_ ”  She grinned.  “I meant, you can sleep in your boxers.” 

“Right.”

###

In the middle of the night, Beverly moved herself against Jean-Luc and he wrapped his arms around her automatically, pulling her close.  She let out a small sigh when his hand strayed down to lightly cradle her bump.  _This is how it should have been_ , she thought as she snuggled closer to the balding man behind her.  _I don’t want to wish Jack had been more like Jean-Luc, but why couldn’t I have met Jean-Luc first?  He’s always treated me well and we’ve never quarrelled_.  _Though, I suppose we’ve never been lovers before._ Beverly took a deep breath and contemplated what she just thought.  _Is that what I want? Do I want Jean-Luc to be my lover?  Would he even want me? Maybe after the baby is born....Wesley.  I want to call him Wesley._ She rested her hand on top of Jean-Luc’s and happily sighed again.  _I’ll tell Jean-Luc in the morning_ , was her last thought before sleep claimed her again.


	2. Chapter 2

In the morning, Beverly couldn’t help herself. She rolled over and placed a kiss square on Jean-Luc’s mouth.  “Good morning.”  He kissed her back and tightened his arms around her. “Good morning, Beverly.”  His hand strayed down her side to lightly stroke her and she pulled away.  “Jean-Luc...I’m not ready for that yet.” 

He nodded and then blushed.  She giggled. “At least I know you want me.”  She smirked and rolled away but Jean-Luc grabbed her hips and pulled her back against his chest.  “I do, Beverly.  But I can wait.”  She grinned and wiggled against him briefly before detangling herself from his arms.  “Will you come with me to legal today?”

“Of course.  I just need to contact Walker and tell him I’m staying a bit longer.”  Beverly bit her lip. “Do you think Walker knows what happened?”

“If Jack asked for a transfer, he might.  What do you want me to tell him?” 

“Everything, I guess. I won’t hold secrets from my best friends.”  He nodded and leaned over to press a chaste kiss to her lips.  “I’ll call him after breakfast.”

###

 _“Jean-Luc, what’s going on?”_ Jean-Luc sighed. “How much do you know?”

 _“Jack told me he needs transferred off and you’re with Beverly now?”_ Behind Jean-Luc, Beverly snorted. “Sounds like Jack. Only telling half the story, and half-truths at that.” 

_“Hey Bev. How are you and the baby?”_

“My son and I are doing just fine, Walker.”  She flashed a smile at her old friend. 

_“It’s a boy?  Jack didn’t say...”_

“Jack doesn’t know.”  Walker grinned. “ _Found out this morning?”_

“No, I’ve known for several weeks.”  Walker’s eyes widened.  “ _Oh. Ah...I’m sorry?”_

“Not your fault, Walker.  It seems that instead of coming to see me to attend our baby’s last scan, my soon-to-be ex-husband went gambling.”

 _“I remember that trip. He said he lost big and had to take out a loan. Wait, did you say ex?”_ Beverly nodded tight-lipped. “What do you mean, lost big?” 

 _“Uhm...”_ Beverly asked Jean-Luc to move to one side and she minimized Walker’s face while she tapped away at the keys and swore in French, making Jean-Luc quickly grin.”He spent it all.”

“All what, Bev?”  Jean-Luc looked at her with concern and quickly pulled her onto his lap so she wouldn’t fall over.  “All my money.  Our account...we combined everything because I thought we would be equals in everything.  I had a fairly substantial payout from my parent’s accident when I reached eighteen and I was keeping it to one side in case it was needed for an emergency...”  She pointed at a figure on the screen.  “That’s just this month’s pay from Starfleet.  There should be...well, a lot more.”  Her eyes flashed with anger and she clutched at her stomach. Wesley clearly did not like his mother stressed out. 

_“Beverly, are you alright? Jean-Luc, what’s going on?”_

“Ah, Walker. Suffice it to say, Jack should consider himself lucky I’m taking an additional two weeks off.  I expect him to be transferred off by the time I return, or at least it should be scheduled?” 

_“I’ll do my best.  Beverly, can I do anything?”_

“I’ll be alright.  I’m going to,”  her voice caught and Jean-Luc gently rubbed her back.  “I’m going to file for the divorce today.  Him taking my money just adds fuel to the fire.” 

_“Alright. Well...keep in touch.  Jean-Luc, when will you be back?”_

“Two weeks. Think you can send a shuttle to pick me up?” 

 _“Not a problem, Captain.  Keel out.”_  Beverly stared at the numbers on the screen long after Walker’s face had disappeared.  “I can’t believe he did that.”

“I’m sorry. Do you need money?  I can...give you money?”  Beverly softly smiled.  “No, but thank you.  It was really just a nest egg for the future. For Wesley.”

“Wesley?”

“I decided last night. I’m naming him Wesley after my grandfather.”  Jean-Luc nodded. “It’s a good name.  Wesley Crusher.”  Beverly shook her head. “No. Wesley Howard.” 

“Sorry.”  She smiled. “It’s ok.”  She stood up from his lap.  “I want to get down to legal and get this filed, and then I guess I need to speak with accounting about separating my money again...” she sighed and leaned against Jean-Luc.  “Not how I expected to spend the last six weeks before my maternity leave starts.” 

Jean-Luc wrapped his arm around her and held her to his shoulder. “I know. But you have me.  Let me do...whatever you need.”  She smiled.  “Right now, I think I just need you to hold my hand.” 

“Done.” 

###

Jean-Luc hated the legal department.  His last entanglement with them had been right at the same time he was promoted to Captain and there was an inquest into the death of the rest of the senior crew of the _Stargazer._ But he promised Beverly he would hold her hand, so he pressed the button outside the legal offices and ushered her in. 

“Can I help you?”  The young Yeoman barely glanced up at the couple in front of her. “If you want to file for a marriage license, that’s room 43D.”  Beverly flushed. “No, I need to file for divorce.”

“From him?  People don’t usually bring along their husband when they file. Have a seat.  I’ll get someone.” 

“No.  Not from him.  Captain Picard is just my friend.  He’s here in case...” she trailed off. “I’m here in case she needs any moral support.”  The Yeoman eyed the way he had his arm wrapped around her and raised her eyebrows.  “Sure. Have a seat. I’ll get someone for you.” 

A few minute later, they were ushered into another office.  “Commander Mrzky.  What can I do for you?”

“Doctor Crusher...well, not for much longer.  This is Captain Picard, my friend.” 

“Sir.  Doctor.  I take it you’re not divorcing the Captain?”  Beverly shook her head. “No.  My husband serves with him though.  Lieutenant Jack Crusher.”

“Is he the....” she nodded. “Jack is the father, but I want him to give up his parental rights.  It’s....it’s what’s best for my son.” 

“Alright, I think you should probably start from the beginning. Of course, I’m only here to process the paperwork and help you fill it out.  After you sign it, it will be transmitted to him.  If he refuses to sign for your divorce, you’ll have to wait at least two years before it would become final.  I’m afraid you and the Captain won’t be able to get married until it’s filed....”  he trailed off when he saw the blush that crept up both their faces. “I’m sorry. I assumed too much, didn’t I?”

“Never mind, Commander,” Jean-Luc gave Beverly’s hand a squeeze.  “Where should we begin?  I can help fill in any background information you need since Jack was serving on my ship.”

“Was?”

“Well, I’ve requested for my first officer to have him reassigned. It wouldn’t be appropriate at this point.”

“I see.  So, Doctor Crusher,”  Beverly recoiled. “Can you please call me Doctor Howard?  And can we do my name change first?  I don’t want to be associated with Crusher anymore.”  Mrzky smiled.  “I understand. Is it just a change back to your maiden name?”  Beverly nodded and Mrzky made a few more strokes on the PADD in front of him and passed it over to Beverly.  “Just thumbprint there.”

Jean-Luc squeezed her free hand while Beverly pressed a thumb to the PADD. “Thank you.”

“Now, Doctor _Howard_ , tell me why you’d like to file for a divorce.”

Beverly spoke for fifteen minutes until her voice went and Jean-Luc rose to fetch her a glass of water.  She grasped the glass and took a few gulps. “Thanks.”  Jean-Luc squeezed her shoulder. “of course.”

Mrzky eyed the pair.  “I need to ask and I hope you don’t write me up for insubordination, Captain, but are you two _together_?” 

Beverly shook her head with a sad smile. “We...” Jean-Luc rescued her. “Beverly and I are not in a physical relationship at this time.” The unspoken words _but we would like to be_ hung in the air.

“Gotcha.”  He did some more tapping on yet another PADD.  “Alright then, Doctor.  If you would look this over I can send this to legal-“

“I thought you were a lawyer?”

“No, I’m just an aide to help fill out paperwork.  This will go on to the legal department and they’ll look it over to make sure everything is filled out correctly and then it will be sent to both you and your husband to be signed.”

“Can I sign it now?  I want this to be over.” 

“It could take a few weeks to go through.  I’m sorry it isn’t instantaneous.”  He shot a sad smile at the pair.  “It takes a minute to be married, but longer to undo it.”  Beverly returned the smile with tears in her eyes.  She knew she was doing the right thing, but that didn’t make it easy.

“And if Jack isn’t on the _Stargazer_?” 

“It will be forwarded to wherever he is. I can...look, we don’t usually expedite divorce cases, but I’m guessing you want to be divorced before you give birth?”  Beverly nodded. 

“I don’t want Jack Crusher’s name anywhere near my baby’s.  He can be known as the biological donor for all I care.”

“Let me see if I can get this expedited through for you.”  Jean-Luc still gripped Beverly’s hand as they spoke.

“Would an admiral’s name help get it done faster?” 

“Perhaps, but...you’re not an Admiral, are you?  I thought you were a Captain?” 

“I am, but Gregory Quinn is an old friend of mine.  If you tell him this is for me, he’ll put his name on it.”  Mrzky hid his smirk. _For you, indeed._ Out loud, he said. “Gotcha. I’ll contact the admiral and ask him to expedite it.” 

“Thank you.  I’ll stop by his office this afternoon myself.  I just want Beverly to be happy and I don’t like seeing her stressed out like this, especially so close to her due date.”

“Understood, Captain.  Doctor Howar, we’ll be in touch.”

Jean-Luc rose and reached out to shake Mrzky’s hand. “Thank you for your help, Commander.”  He helped Beverly rise and Mrzky watched as the man gently rested a hand on her back.  It was obvious he cared for her and vice versa, and Mrzky only hoped they would get to be together soon.

The accounting department was easier.  Beverly simply had to fill in a request to have her wages going forward put into a private account and she was able to transfer her previous month’s wages out of the joint account.  “Can I just close the account?  It doesn’t have any money in it anymore. What would happen to Jack’s pay?”

“It will simply generate a new account for him without your name on it unless he chooses to add you as his spouse.” Beverly snorted. “We’re divorced.”

“Ah. Then, yes. I would suggest simply closing the account.” 

“Please.”  A few more strokes of a keyboard later and the accounting Yeoman was happily telling Beverly the account had been closed.  The Yeoman eyed Jean-Luc.  “And...did you want your second husband to be put on your account?”  Beverly flushed and stammered.  Jean-Luc once again came to her rescue. “Not at this time, thank you.  But I would like to open up a trust fund for the baby.”  Beverly glanced over at Jean-Luc. “Really?”

“Yes, really.  I was going to set one up anyway after the child was born, but since we already know what you’re naming him, we might as well do it now.” 

“We can start the paperwork for it, but we’ll need to know the baby’s birthdate to make it official.  Why don’t you take this PADD with you and fill it out at your leisure?”  Jean-Luc nodded and took the PADD. “Thank you.” 

They exited the department and Beverly turned to Jean-Luc. “You don’t have to do that.”  Jean-Luc kissed the top of her head.  “I know, but I want to.” 

“Thank you.”

###

Beverly had assured Jean-Luc she would be fine during her shift in the afternoon, so he walked her to sickbay and kissed her cheek before he carried on to his old friend’s office.  He nodded to the Yeoman sitting at the reception desk. “Is Greg busy?” 

“He’s not with anyone at the moment. I can ask if he’ll see you.  Captain?”

“Picard.”

“One moment, please.”  The Yeoman pressed an intercom button. 

_“Quinn.”_

“Admiral, I have a Captain Picard here to see you?”  Jean-Luc could hear the smile in his voice as Quinn responded. _“Send him in.  And bring us a pot of Earl Grey.  No, better make that a couple tumblers of whisky.”_ Jean-Luc smiled at the receptionist.  “Tea would be fine.” She nodded.  “You can go in now, Sir.”

“Thanks.”

Jean-Luc entered the office and Admiral Gregory Quinn rose from his seat. “Jean-Luc Picard.  I knew you were here for a meeting and I was hoping we’d get a chance to catch up.”  He held out his hand for Jean-Luc to shake. “Admiral.”

“Oh, please. I used to be your Captain.  It’s Greg.”  Jean-Luc nodded. “Have a seat.  I hope this is a social call.” 

“Partly.”  Quinn eyed his former protégé.  “What did you do?” 

Jean-Luc chuckled.  “Good to see you have such faith in me, Greg.”  Quinn grinned as the door opened and the Yeoman came in with a tray holding both a pot of tea and a bottle of whisky.  Quinn chuckled. “Alright, Jean-Luc. We’ll start with the tea. Thank you, Odetta.”  He poured and passed Jean-Luc a cup. 

“Thank you.  Greg, I was wondering if you could help me out by expediting something down in legal....”  Quinn raised his eyebrows.  “I repeat, what did you do?”

“Nothing.  Honestly.  Do you remember Beverly Howard?” 

“The young doctor?” 

“That’s the one.” 

“Is she in trouble?”  Jean-Luc shook his head. “No.  Yes. Well....it’s slightly complicated.”  Quinn leaned back in his chair and sipped his tea. “I’m listening, Jean-Luc.”

“Beverly would like a divorce.” 

“From you?  Again, I ask, _what did you do_?”  Jean-Luc chuckled.  “Not from me.  From Jack Crusher.”

“Well, if she goes down to legal, they’ll help her with the forms.”  Quinn took another sip of tea. “But you know that, Jean-Luc.”  Jean-Luc nodded and sipped his own tea.  “She needs it to be expedited.  She’s pregnant.” 

Quinn raised his eyebrows. “And you’re the father?”  

“Don’t I wish.  No, the baby is Jack’s.  But Beverly is due in I think five or six weeks and she wants Jack to not be listed on the child’s birth certificate.” 

“So you can be?”  Jean-Luc shrugged. “I don’t think she’s thought that far ahead, but I would be willing.”  Quinn smiled.  “You’re in love with her.”  Jean-Luc nodded, deciding it was no use hiding his feelings.

“I am.” 

“Does she know it?”  Jean-Luc rubbed the back of his neck.  “I don’t know. Maybe?  I’m not sure if this is an appropriate time to tell her or if she’ll just bite my head off.”  Quinn chuckled at his young friend. “Ah, young love.”  Quinn made a few strokes on his console in front of him.  “Right. I’ve found Beverly’s form.  I can send it to the head of legal and ask them to expedite it as a favour, but you’ll owe me, Jean-Luc.”  Jean-Luc nodded. 

“And Sir?  I would like to take my accumulated leave when Beverly gives birth, to help her out.”  Quinn nodded. “Some? Or all?”

“I haven’t discussed it with Beverly yet, but I know I have well over a year available.”  Quinn nodded. “Or Beverly can add you as the co-parent and then you’d be eligible to take the paternity leave offered to co-parents.”  Jean-Luc’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t...that is...I’m not sure we’re quite ready for that step.” 

“I might be able to fudge some things for you when the time comes. You said she’s due in five weeks?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “Or six. I’m not entirely sure.  I’m taking two weeks now to help her, and then I intended to return to the _Stargazer_ for about four weeks to pack and turn command over to Commander Keel.”    

“You’ll come back in two.”  Jean-Luc eyed his superior.  “Greg?”

“Jean-Luc...first babies can arrive early.  Trust me. When my wife had our first, she was three weeks ahead of schedule!”

  “I...had no idea. I just thought the due date was the due date and the date the baby would arrive.” 

Quinn shook his head. “Ah, my young friend, you have _much_ to learn.  Beverly is going to need your help in the last few weeks with everyday things like putting on her shoes,” Jean-Luc smiled slightly, “helping her with the zip on her uniform, helping her in and out of the bath,”  Jean-Luc’s eyes widened at that comment and Quinn chuckled to himself.  “Even simple things like helping her get the baby’s room set up. And if you’re going to effectively be her co-pilot....”

“I need to be here for her.”  Quinn nodded. 

“Alright. Then I request for my leave to begin in four weeks, and I’d like to take all of it if I can.” 

“Are you sure?”  Jean-Luc nodded.  “Unless Beverly decides she doesn’t want my help, but...”

“She will.  But you could ask Beverly and the baby to join you on your ship for her maternity leave instead.”  Jean-Luc shook his head. “It’s a nice offer, and I wouldn’t be opposed to having Beverly join me after our leaves are up as a junior doctor, but I want to be able to give her and Wesley my undivided attention.” 

“Wesley?”

“Beverly found out she’s having a boy and wants to name him Wesley after her grandfather.” 

“Wesley Picard sounds nice.”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes. “Don’t start, Greg.  Let’s get Bev divorced before you have us married, alright?” 

“My services are available any time....”  Greg cleared his throat and held out a glass of whisky.  “I think this calls for a toast. To the lovely Beverly Howard and her baby.”

“To Beverly,” Jean-Luc clinked his glass against Greg’s and smiled as he sipped the whisky and wondered what Beverly would think when he told her he would only be gone for two weeks.

###

Beverly closed her messages. Legal had informed her that the divorce documents had been sent to Jack. She placed her hand on her son and smiled when he gave her a solid kick.

"We'll be ok, Wesley." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "I know this isn't quite how I expected our lives to go, but Uncle Jean-Luc and Uncle Walker will help." She rose and went to the couch, easing herself down. Her back was killing her, and there didn't seem to be any relief in sight. _Maybe I should ask Jean-Luc to rub my back when he gets back_. She frowned and sent the thought away. Part of her hoped that he was really intending to be around for her during the next few weeks of pregnancy and beyond, but another larger, louder part of her was waiting for him to grow tired of her or the baby after Wesley was born. She began crying at the realization that her own husband didn’t care and she would soon be a single mother.

The door to her quarters slid open and Jean-Luc entered, struggling with the furniture he'd ordered from the requisition center for the baby’s room. "Beverly?" He set the changing station down and rushed to her side. "What can I do?"

 She shook her head and began crying harder.  Her hands covered her baby as if protecting him from some unseen danger, and Jean-Luc's heart broke. "Come here," he picked her up and she gasped as he stood. "Let's get you comfortable."

 He carried her through the door of her bedroom and pulled back the blankets with one hand. He got her situated and pulled the pillow he'd used the last several nights over and put it under her knees to help relieve the stress on her lower back. He sat on the side of the bed as she worked on settling herself. He brushed her hair from her face and leaned forward to kiss her gently. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." She hiccupped. "They sent Jack the papers, and you're going to leave, and..." she motioned helplessly and whispered, "I'm going to be a single mother."

 "Do you regret divorcing Jack?"

 "No." Beverly's voice was rough with emotion. "I'm angry at him, I'm angry that I didn't see him for what he is sooner, but no."

"Do you need me to stay longer?" He took her hand in his. "I should to go back to the Stargazer to tie up loose ends before I come back, but I can stay if you need me and talk to Walker over subspace."

“No.  I’ll... _we’ll_ be fine.  Just...hurry back?”  Jean-Luc pressed another kiss to Beverly’s lips.  “Nothing will keep me away, I promise.  And you _won’t_ be a single mother.  You’ll have me.” Beverly softly smiled at his admission.

“What if you get tired of us...or the crying...the diapers...the sleepless nights...you didn’t sign up for any of this.” 

“You’re right, I didn’t.”  Beverly looked up sharply and Jean-Luc reached for her hand again, bringing it to his lips.  “But that doesn’t mean I’m not tossing my hat in the ring.  Beverly, I will be for you and Wesley whatever you need me to be.  I love you.”  Beverly smiled again and softly spoke. “Yeah, I love you too.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is quite a bit of French in this chapter, but most of it isn't important. I'll give a loose translation in the footnote.

Jack sat staring at the divorce documents that had been delivered to him earlier that day. Jean-Luc had been right in his assumption that she would file quickly. He swallowed hard and scrolled through the pages. His eyes bulged momentarily as he read the phrase "Relinquishment of Parental Rights". He felt a well of anger, first at her, and then at himself as he realized she was right. He had no interest in raising a child. He wasn't sure he even wanted to see the... he paused. _Was it going to be a boy or girl?_  He nearly called to ask her, but decided against it. If he had actually wanted to know, he'd have gone home that weekend instead of gambling.

 He sat for a few minutes, wondering if he should give up so easily or if he should fight a little. He signed the forms, carefully affixing his thumbprint to all of them next to his name. He took a deep breath and hit send. He was a free man, but it didn't feel as good as he'd expected.

###

Beverly’s alert went off and she walked over to her console and raised her eyebrows. “That was fast.” 

“Hmm?”  Jean-Luc was working on putting together the changing table he picked up earlier in the day and wasn’t paying attention to Beverly.  “What was?”

“Jack’s sent back the papers already.”  Jean-Luc stood and walked out of the nursery to wrap his arms around Beverly. “How do you feel?”

“Relieved? A bit sad.  I...I don’t know.  Jean-Luc...can I be alone for a little bit?  I need to gather my thoughts.”  Jean-Luc nodded and kissed her cheek. 

“Sure. I’ll go get a cup of tea from the cafe on the prom.  Just call me when you want me to come back.” 

“Thanks.” 

Jean-Luc slipped out of Beverly’s quarters and she waited until she was sure he had walked away and she let out her pent up scream of rage.  A few minutes later, she was calmer and walked into her bedroom to make sure nothing that belonged to Jack remained. 

It had been quite pathetic, really, when Jean-Luc helped her pack up his belongings.  Barely enough to fill a crate.  Told her how much he actually cared to be living with her.  Beverly slid open the closet door and peered inside.  No more blue uniforms except for her own, and  an orderly row of Jean-Luc’s in command red.  She smiled.  She knew if she opened a few of her drawers, she would see regimented rows of paired sock, divided by colour, carefully folded undershirts and boxers, and a few pairs of pyjamas.  She giggled.  Jean-Luc would throw a fit if he ever opened her underwear drawer. She never bothered to fold things, just tossed them in.  She was lucky if her socks got paired.

Was Jean-Luc going to move in with her, now?  She supposed it would make sense if he wanted to be around to help her with Wesley.  Jean-Luc had offered to continue to sleep in the nursery on the small bed in there, but Beverly liked sharing a bed with him.  He would wrap his arms around her and hold her close while they slept and place a sloppy kiss on the back of her neck before they settled for the evening. 

He desired her.  His desire was evident in the mornings when she would feel him pressed against her.  He got over the embarrassment after a few days when Beverly admitted she sometimes woke up wanting him, too.  But they had some kind of unspoken rule that they wouldn’t do anything more than a few kisses while she was still married to Jack Crusher. 

Her marriage was now over, and Beverly sat down on the edge of the bed and contemplated what that would mean for her relationship with Jean-Luc... _did_ she have a relationship with Jean-Luc?  Did she want one? 

She surprised herself when her answer was yes. 

Beverly was drawn out of her thoughts when her doorchime went off and she grinned.  She headed back out into the living room and went to open her door. “Couldn’t stay away?”  She blushed when she realised it wasn’t Jean-Luc, but his old friend Admiral Quinn.

“Admiral.  If you’re looking for Jean-Luc,  he went to the coffee shop on the prom.” 

“Actually, my dear, I came to speak with you.  May I?” Beverly flushed. “Of course, Sir. Come in. Please. Can I get you a drink?”  Quinn waved his hand.  “Please.  Call me Greg. And I’m perfectly capable of working a replicator.  Can I get _you_ anything?” 

“Green tea, please.”  Quinn nodded and was soon passing Beverly her tea.  “Admiral...Greg, I wanted to thank you for helping to expedite  my divorce from Jack.”

“When Jean-Luc came to me to ask me to do him a favour regarding legal, I thought for sure he had gotten himself into trouble.  But when he told me, and I could see how much he loved you, of course I agreed.”

“Jean-Luc doesn’t love me, I mean, not as more than a friend.  We’re....friends.  Best friends.”  Quinn sipped his own cup of tea and raised his eyebrows. “Beverly, may I call you Beverly?”  She nodded. “Beverly, dear, would just a friend ask his superior if he could take all of his remaining leave in one go so he could stay for the full first year of a child’s life?  Would just a friend ask for permission for you to bring your child on board his ship next year?”

“He...he did what?” Beverly asked in wonderment.  “He said he was going to take some leave, but I just thought a month or two.... _all_ of it?”

“All fifteen months of it.”

“Wow.”  Quinn smiled at Beverly. “Wow, indeed.” 

“He shouldn’t waste it all on me like that. What if he wants a holiday?” 

“I don’t think Jean-Luc views it as a waste. He loves you.”  Beverly studied the tea in her cup.  The tea was green, true to its name. Slightly milky in colour as compared to the gunpowder green she usually drank, but it was pleasant. “I....”

“Do you love him?” 

“I don’t know,”  Beverly softly said. “Maybe.  Probably.  But...”  Quinn set his cup down and took Beverly’s cup from her hands to grasp her hand in his.  He realised Beverly was only a few years older than his eldest daughter. 

“But what?”  Beverly looked away. “He can’t possibly.  I mean,  I’m having another man’s baby....” 

“Another man’s baby who he would be more than happy to call his own, I wager.” 

“No, I couldn’t...could I?”  She glanced at Quinn’s face.  He smiled at her encouragingly.  “Could you do what, my dear?”

“I could,”  Beverly’s voice was barely above a whisper, “I could add him to my records as my co-parent.  If I did that...he could apply for the paternity leave, right?”  Quinn nodded. “And if I do that...Jean-Luc would still have all of his personal leave banked for later for his own use.”

“Perhaps for the two of you to go on holiday together with the baby when he’s a bit older?”  Beverly blushed.  “I need to...”  Quinn released her hands. “Do you need to go to sickbay?”  She shook her head. “No, I can change my file from my console.  I just need Jean-Luc’s ID number....which I’m sure I have around here somewhere.”  She rose and made her way over to her console.  Quinn chuckled. 

“You know I can get his ID number for you quickly.”   Beverly sheepishly grinned.  “Right. Because you’re an Admiral....” 

“Precisely, my dear. Just let me borrow your console for a moment,”  He walked over to her desk and began entering in a long string of access numbers and letters and after a few minutes he smiled. “Got it.”

Beverly passed the man her PADD where she was adding Jean-Luc as her co-parent.  Quinn quickly tapped in Jean-Luc’s ID number and passed it back to her. “Won’t that be a surprise for him.” 

Beverly smiled. “You won’t tell him, will you?” 

“No, of course not.  Now, I think I will leave you to spend some time with your...with Jean-Luc.  I understand his shuttle will be here in two days to take him back to the _Stargazer_ briefly and I’m sure you want to spend some time with him.”  Quinn made his way to the door.  Beverly followed him. 

“Thank you, Admiral.  For...for everything.”  Quinn patted her shoulder.  “Of course, dear.” 

Beverly decided to surprise Jean-Luc and meet him at the cafe . She didn’t know how long he had been gone, but her stomach rumbled and she thought maybe he might like to grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants instead of eating in.  She smoothed down her uniform and lightly patted her bump.  “I’m not ready to call him your daddy....but let’s go have dinner with your....”  she struggled to find the right word.  Jean-Luc was going to be so much more than just an uncle to her child, but he wouldn’t exactly be his father....unless they got married.  Beverly blushed at the thought.  _Where did_ that _come from?_

“Let’s go have dinner with Jean-Luc,” she settled on, deciding that she and Jean-Luc had a lot to discuss either before or just after Wesley was born.  Adding him to her records as co-parent didn’t automatically make him the father, and Beverly wasn’t sure if that really was the right thing to do, anyway.  Currently, she was listed as being an unmarried mother, a term that caused her to shudder silently.  So many years of progress and women’s liberation, and a woman without a husband or partner having a baby was still something society liked to judge. 

Beverly slowly made her way to the small cafe she knew Jean-Luc liked and she paused just to watch him read.  She looked at his head, where he was quickly losing his hair. He told her his father had been almost bald by the time he was thirty, and he was expecting his own hairline to follow.  She wanted to press her fingers into the fringe of hair behind his ears and work her way down his neck to his shoulders, and to those gorgeous biceps that held her close at night.  She closed her eyes and licked her lips before approaching his table.  She covered his eyes with her fingers and then slid her hands back to tickle his ears.  He grinned and reached up to touch her hands.  “Beverly,” he breathed out and turned in his chair .

“How did you know it was me?”

“No one else would touch me like that.  Are you ok?” She nodded.  “I just thought we could go out for dinner instead of staying in tonight.” 

“An excellent idea.”  He tugged her into his lap and pressed a kiss to her cheek.  “What are you in the mood for? Or rather, what does Wesley want?”

“Do you remember that place we ate at when we were in New Italy? With the pergola covered in Animone?”  Jean-Luc nodded.  Jean-Luc and Walker had met Beverly and Jack there on shore leave to celebrate Jack’s first promotion.  “I’ve been dreaming of those calzones.  Think we can find a place that serves them?” 

“I think there’s an Italian restaurant on the seventh level.  Shall we go?” Beverly nodded and then glanced at Jean-Luc’s uniform.  “Do you want to change first?  You’re a bit...dusty.”  He grinned. “Only because I’ve been putting baby furniture together.  Sure. Shall we call this a no uniform date?”  Beverly softly smiled.  “Besides, we need to celebrate you being a free woman now.” 

Beverly patted her bump. “Not _so_ free,” she frowned, wondering if Jean-Luc _really_ wanted to be saddled with a baby that wasn’t his.  He tilted her chin up.   “Well, free from Jack at any rate.”  Beverly rose from his lap and Jean-Luc reached for her hand.  “Shall we go change?”  She nodded.

###

Beverly yawned during dessert and Jean-Luc grinned. “Am I boring you?”  She shook her head. “No. It’s just been an emotional day and I think it’s worn me out.”  He nodded. “Why don’t we finish our dessert in our quarters?”  A little thrill went through Beverly when he called them ‘our quarters’.  She smiled.  “Mm, then I can take off my shoes!” 

“Feet bothering you again?” 

“Only because I wore my heels.” Jean-Luc raised an eyebrow. “I think the obvious solution would be to not wear heels?”  She grinned. “I know a good foot masseuse.” 

Jean-Luc flexed his fingers. “At your service.” He had their dessert boxed up and he carried the small bag in one hand and reached for her hand with his free hand.  She twined their fingers together and smiled. _If only....._ she shook her head slightly. _No. I will_ not _compare Jack to Jean-Luc.  Jean-Luc is treating me no differently than he always has....I wonder...._

“Distracted, Bev?” 

“Hmm? No.  Just thinking....”  He smiled. “Only good things, I hope.”

“Yeah, me too.”  He gave her a slightly funny look but shrugged.  “I think I can get the rest of the nursery furniture together before I have to go back to the _Stargazer_ . Just in _case_ you need it before I get back.”  Beverly laughed. “No, I think Wesley is quite comfortable right now. He’ll wait for you to return.” 

“Well, I’d still like to get it together tomorrow. Are we keeping the spare bed?”  She squeezed his fingers.  It was a casual question, she knew, but it also held so much depth and meaning.  She slowly shook her head and he smiled.  “No,  I don’t think we need it.  Walker can sleep on the couch or get his own quarters when he visits.” 

They arrived home and Jean-Luc pretended to bow to her and flourished his arm out. “Would _mademoiselle_  like her dessert first or her feet rubbed?” 

“Feet please.”  He passed her the bag with the cake and lifted her into his arms.  “Anything you say, _mademoiselle._ ”  Beverly wanted to protest that she could walk the few feet across her quarters, but there was something thrilling when he used French words.  The low tone of his voice when he dropped into French made the tips of her toes tingle.  He placed her on the sofa and set to removing her shoes.  

“Will you teach Wesley French?”  She suddenly asked. 

“Hmm. If you’d like me to.  It’s a bit of a dead language, but my father felt it was important for my brother and I to speak it.” 

“It’s very...romantic.” 

“ _Ah, la romance. Le français peut être très séduisant, ma belle dame. Par exemple, vos orteils sont délicieux. Vos chevilles, exquis. Ah, chérie. J'aime tes pieds._ ”  She giggled. “I don’t know what you’re saying, but keep going.” 

“ _Je pourrais cirer poétique sur vos jambes. Vos jambes de danseuse galbées avec la fossette délicate derrière vos genoux. Je sais que sous ta jupe ample se cache une paire de cuisses musclées, et en haut ... ma chérie, tu as le plus délicieux derrière.”_

“Ok, _that_ word I know.  What about my bottom?”  He grinned.  “Just telling you how lovely it is.” 

“Hmm.  And the rest?”

“I said your toes were delicious,”  He ducked his head and pressed a kiss to the top of her foot, “And your ankles exquisite.”  He moved his hands to her ankles and rubbed slow circles on them with his thumbs. 

“Fat. My ankles are fat.” 

“ _Non, ma Beverly a de belles chevilles.”_   He took a deep breath.  “ _Beverly, je sais que vous ne comprenez pas tous les mots que je dis, mais j'ai besoin que vous sachiez à quel point je vous aime et que je me soucie de vous._ _Si je ne peux pas utiliser Standard, j'utiliserai ma langue maternelle._ _Je suis amoureuse de vous et ce depuis quelque temps déjà et je veux que vous sachiez que j'aimerai Wesley avec toutes les fibres de mon être.“_

“Even my name sounds nice when you use French.”  He grinned. “What? Like this? Beverly, _Beverly, Beverly_....”  He rolled her name off his tongue and Beverly let out a soft sigh.  He leaned forward and gave her what he intended to be just a quick peck on the lips but he was surprised when she tugged him forward and ran her tongue over his lips.  He gently parted his lips and she kissed him deeply, her hands moving to toy with the fringe around his ears she loved so very much.  She let out a noise that sounded like a moan and he was gone. 

He was kissing her and she was kissing him and he broke the kiss long enough to lift her into his arms once more and his lips found hers again as he carried her into the bedroom – their bedroom – she realised with a start.  Then they were kissing on the bed and he was trailing his lips down her jaw and across her collar.  She tilted her head and he gently sucked at her neck.  She pawed at his shirt, wanting to remove it, wanting to feel his skin under her fingers and she suddenly paused.

“Jean-Luc,”  his name came out as a whisper and his fingers paused in their search for the zip on her dress. 

“Beverly? Is this....is this alright?”  She nodded and kissed him again. “Yes, it’s quite...it’s quite wonderful.  But I don’t....I mean....”

“I understand.”  She sighed in relief.  “But don’t stop the kissing?” 

“Of course not,” and he kissed her again.

###

Beverly had changed into her nightgown and Jean-Luc was in his sleep shorts later.  They were still laying in bed, occasionally exchanging kisses and caresses on top of their clothing.  Jean-Luc ran a hand across her belly and was rewarded with a little kick from Wesley. 

“He likes you.” 

“ _Beverly, Je t'aime et j'aime ton bébé et même si je ne suis pas son père biologiquement, je veux être dans sa vie en tant que son père et en tant que partenaire ... peu importe la façon dont tu me veux._ ” She smiled.

“Now what did you say?  I know _Je t’aime_ is love.”

“ _Je t’aime_ is ‘I love you’.  I was telling Wesley how much I love him.”  Jean-Luc conveniently left out the part where he said that to _her_ and told her he wanted to be in her life as her partner and as Wesley’s father.  Beverly softly smiled, sure that there was something else to his words.

“Oh. I wish I knew a second language, but on Caldos we only spoke Standard.  I mean, a few phases in Scotch Gaelic here and there, but I don’t think any of it would be appropriate for Wesley to hear.”  He chuckled. “Maybe when he’s older.”

Beverly yawned.  “You should get some sleep, my love.”  

“Mm,  but I like this time with you...you know, it’s going to be different once Wesley is here.”  Jean-Luc brushed back her hair from her face and smiled. “I know.  But I hope we can still find some time together.”  Beverly nodded and played with the chest hair peeking out from his shirt before speaking again.

“Jean-Luc, do we need to define this?” 

“Do you _want_ to?” she shook her head. “Not yet.  I mean....I don’t know what I’m saying, do you?”

“I think I understand.”  He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.  “For now, we can just be together and worry about labelling it later.” 

“Ok.”  Jean-Luc slid down the pillow until he was laying down and she adjusted herself to rest her head on his shoulder once more.  “Jean-Luc?”

“Yes, Beverly?”

“I love you,” she paused, “I mean, as more than just best friend love.  Is that ok?”

“My love, that is absolutely perfect, because I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first bit, Jean-Luc is basically telling her how much he likes her toes, ankles, legs, etc. It's all a bit cheesy, but Google should translate it if you really want to know the exact translation.
> 
> The second bit, he gets a little flowery and says he knows she doesn't understand his words, but he wants her to know how much he loves her.
> 
> Then when they're in bed, Jean-Luc tells her that he wants to be in Wesley's life as his father and as her partner.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things heat up!

Beverly lay staring into the darkness of her - _their_ bedroom. She was still processing that she had finally admitted to Jean-Luc that she loved him as more than just a friend, and he had responded that he loved her the same. 

She hadn't told him she'd spoken with Admiral Quinn, or that she'd added him to her records as a co-parent. She hadn't even told him that Quinn hinted at him coming home sooner, or that he'd not have to use his accumulated leave, because he'd be on maternity leave with her. A tear leaked from her eye as she thought of Quinn's statement that Jean-Luc had already asked for permission to bring her and her baby on his ship when their leave was over.  _Junior Doctor on a starship.  Wow.  And Jack told me in no uncertain terms Jean-Luc had said no when he asked if I could move on board! I wonder if he was lying...do I care?_

Self-incrimination struggled with gratitude in her mind as she rehashed her relationship with her ex-husband once again. She wanted to say that Jean-Luc was treating her the same as he always did, but that wasn't quite the truth. She sighed heavily. He was treating her better than _he_ ever did. She reached up and dried the small stream of tears that coursed over her nose and onto her pillow.  Jean-Luc felt, rather than heard, her crying as her shoulders gently shook and he debated if he should let her know he was awake or if she would feel embarrassed.  He decided to speak up, mostly because he didn’t like the idea of her suffering on her own. 

"Are you alright?" His voice was quiet in the darkness.  He kissed the back of her neck and hugged her a little tighter for a moment. Beverly sniffed.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's all right." He shifted position and leaned over her. She rolled onto her back and tried to smile, but she could only manage a tear-soaked version. He stroked the side of her face with his thumb as his eyes wandered about her face in the starlight. "What can I do?"

"Nothing..." she swallowed hard, realising that this was a man she _could_ talk to openly about her feelings. "I love you." her words came out firmly.  He smiled.

"I love you, too." He leaned in and kissed her gently again before grinning. "I hope knowing that doesn't cause you this much turmoil."

"No." She shook her head with a smile. “I’m just...processing things, I guess.  And the pregnancy hormones aren’t helping!”  He grinned again and laced their fingers together.  “Use me as your punching bag.  I mean, not literally, but you know what I mean. Although...with Wesley beating you up inside, I suppose it’s only fair....”  This time, Beverly let out a small chuckle.

 "I talked to Admiral Quinn today."  Beverly took a deep breath and he nodded encouragement for her to continue. "I..." she blushed , "He helped me add you to my files as a co-parent." She swallowed hard and felt relieved when he began to smile once more.

"Did you?" He looked at her with adoration and untangled their fingers so he could splay his hand on her swell. Wesley was obviously unhappy with his mother's emotional state and was punching out against the feelings that affected his tiny world and Jean-Luc gently caressed where he felt Wesley pushing to try to soothe him. "That’s...brilliant.  I'm glad. Thank you. It means...wow. Uhh...."  it was his turn to blush.  But how did you tell the woman you loved how happy it made you to know she wanted you to stick around and be in her child’s life.  Did this mean he was going to be a father?  The thought overwhelmed him and filled Jean-Luc with an amazing sense of what he could only describe as awe. Beverly smiled as she saw the array of emotions cross over Jean-Luc’s face.  For all that he was a stoic Captain, he often wore his feelings on his face in front of his friends.  She stamped down the thought that compared Jean-Luc’s reaction to that of Jack’s when she had told him she was pregnant.  Jack had somehow made it sound like it was going to be a chore to be a father, and she once again questioned her own judgement on being with him. She shook the thought loose.  _No.  No thinking about Jack now.  He’s gone._

“Admiral Quinn said you asked to take all of your leave and to have us on your ship when my maternity leave is over. Do you really mean it?" Her voice cracked. His thumb tenderly wiped the tears from her cheek as he nodded. 

"Absolutely.  I wouldn’t want to leave you on your own,”  Jean-Luc blushed slightly. " I don't even want to leave for these next two weeks, but I need to transfer command." She nodded. "If you need me to stay, I'll start my leave sooner."

"How soon will you be back?" 

"Two weeks." He smiled. "I was going to take the four, and Quinn told me a few things about first babies, including the fact that they sometimes come early." He chuckled at himself. "I'm worried about leaving for these next two weeks now. What if..."

"What if what?"

"What if you need me, and I'm not here? What if you need help?”  Beverly rolled her eyes at her companion. 

“I do have a few friends on the station I can call.  Doctor Quaice’s wife, for one.  Marissa.  T’Sorva.  I’ll be _fine_.”  Jean-Luc gently cupped her cheek.  “I’ll worry.  What if you go into labour and I miss..." he swallowed hard and switched back into French. _"...la naissance de notre fils."_

"What?" She smiled and brought her hand up to his face. "Tell me.” His expression looked pained. "If you don't tell me, I'll just try to remember the words and get them translated later."  She quirked an eyebrow at him and he could only roll his eyes at her tenacity.

"I love you, Beverly."

"I know."  She leaned up and kissed him soundly. "I love you, too."  She played with the hair behind his ears. "What did you say?"

"What if I miss..." he paused again, "Our son being born?"

"Our...?" Her eyes widened.

“Well, if you’re going to make me your co-parent. I...did I overstep?” 

“No. Yes, Wesley is your son.  I want him to call you Daddy.  Or Papa,  I’m not fussed,” she grinned and he grinned back.  “If I’m to be Papa, that would make you Maman.” 

“Maman,”  Beverly tried out the French word. “It’s...”

“Why don’t we settle on Mommy and Papa? I know he's not mine biologically, but I promise to love him as if he were my own flesh and blood.  I love you and I love Wesley. I have to admit, there were so many times when I was jealous of Jack.  Do you remember your wedding day?”  Beverly nodded. 

“Hard to forget it, really, much as I might like to.”

“Sorry.” 

“It’s alright, continue.”  He flashed her another smile and reached for her hand once more.  “My heart broke.  I was standing there, on the dais watching my two best friends pledge their love to each other and all I wanted to do was speak up when the old dotty pastor asked ‘if anyone knows of a reason’....”  He trailed off when he noticed her smirk.  “What?”

“I wish you had.” Part of her couldn't grasp the idea that he loved her so entirely when her former husband hadn't, and another part of her was overwhelmed.

“Me too, but it’s in the past now...”  he kissed her and she deepened the kiss.  His hand not keeping him propped up slid down her nightgown.  He paused and gave each breast a very light squeeze, remembering her earlier complaints about sore breasts.  He followed with his lips, and pressed a wet kiss to the exposed part of her breasts.  His hand skimmed down to her hips and he slowly inched her short gown up to expose her belly and she moved her hands to smooth it back down.  “No, don’t.”  His eyes met hers.  “Did I...”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong.  I just...I don’t want you to look at my belly.  It’s huge and it has stretch marks and what if it never goes back to normal?”  He shook his head.  “Sweetheart, I would love you if you weighed four hundred pounds-“

“Hey, I’m not that big!”  He chuckled. “You know what I mean. Your belly is beautiful, it’s growing my baby-“  Beverly opened her mouth and Jean-Luc held up his hand.  “ _My_ baby.” She smiled. “Your baby.”  She tugged him back up to her mouth so she could kiss him again.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”  He shifted and moved to the foot of the bed. “Where are you going?”  He picked up one of her legs and started gently massaging her foot. “We never finished your foot massage.”  He ducked his head and pressed kisses to her toes and her instep, causing her breath to catch. “Oh,”

He kissed and massaged his way up one leg and down the other until Beverly felt as though she was swimming in a pool of bliss.  His hands moved to her hips once more. “Can I?” 

“I’m wearing ugly granny panties.”  He chuckled.  “I don’t care.”  Beverly sat up slightly and allowed him to remove her nightgown.  He gazed down at her with adoration.  “You’re so beautiful.”  He found one of her errant stretch marks and bathed it with his tongue and she laughed.  “Stop that.” 

“Nope.”

“But....”  He found another mark to drag his tongue over. “I told you, I love you. All of you.  Every part of you.”  He pressed a kiss to the roundest part of her baby bump.  “Even this part.” 

He kissed down from her belly button until he met the fabric of her serviceable underwear. “If I knew this was going to happen, I’d have worn fancier knickers,”  she quipped.  Jean-Luc smiled.

“Don’t care.  Can I take them off?”  Beverly bit her lip.  She was already mostly naked, so what did removing her underwear really matter?  “I....” 

Jean-Luc sent her a lopsided smile.  “Here, I’ll even the field a bit,”  he tugged off his sleep shorts, which he had been wearing without boxers and Beverly’s breath hitched.  He was.... _Can I call a man beautiful,_ she mused.  She reached out a hand and he moved to lie down next to her and he closed his eyes when she slowly traced her finger along him.  “Oh, _Beverly,_ ”  he moaned out.  She grinned. 

He opened one eye and looked at her.  She had a look of half confusion and half wonderment on her face and he caught her hand. “Are you ok?”

“I...I didn’t know....”  

“Didn’t know what, sweetheart?”  She shook her head.  _No more thinking about Jack.  Just because he refused to touch me once I told him I was pregnant...._ “Jean-Luc, will you touch me?” 

“I’ve been waiting for you to give me permission.”  He straddled her legs and reached for her underwear.  “Hips up, love.”  Beverly planted her feet flat against the bed to momentarily raise her hips slightly and he slowly slid her underwear down.  He pressed a kiss against her dark curls before he finished removing the garment and tossed it to one side.  He settled between her legs and Beverly was soon lost in the sensations of his velvet tongue.

###

Beverly happily sighed in the arms of her _boyfriend? Lover? Partner?_ She struggled with what to call him.  She felt silly calling him her boyfriend, but lover sounded dirty and crass to her ears.  Partner would work, but she never associated that word with a straight human relationship.  Jean-Luc pressed a kiss to her hair. “Is that a frown, my love?” 

“No,”  she shook her head.  “Just musing over what to call you.”  He grinned.

“Well, I _hope_ you haven’t forgotten my name is Jean-Luc, you were positively moaning it earlier...”  She swatted at him.  “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”  He smiled at her playfulness.  “I am whatever you want me to be.” 

“That’s the problem. I don’t know.  Are you my boyfriend? My lover? My baby’s father?” 

“All of the above,” he suggested. She smiled. “It’s not too soon to call you my boyfriend?” 

“Beverly, my love,”  he gently rolled her over to face him and he cupped her cheek. “It’s only too soon if _you_ think it’s too soon, but I told you, I’ve loved you for quite some time.” 

“I suppose most of the people we’ve interacted with have thought we were together anyway.  It’s only Jack and whoever he tells who would say anything.” 

“And Jack is very far away, I promise.  He’s not even on the _Stargazer_. Walker managed to put through a transfer request for him and he’s already gone.”  Beverly sat up suddenly and the blanket fell to her waist. Jean-Luc groaned and ached to touch her breasts.  He settled for slowly rubbing gentle circles on the tops of her breasts and she smiled before pushing his hand away gently. “What are we going to tell Walker?” 

Jean-Luc sat up to join her and pulled her against his shoulder.  “Walker knows you divorced Jack and he knows I intend to be here when you give birth.  I think he can put the pieces together himself.  He’s known for a while that I had feelings for you.” 

“He never said anything to me.”  Jean-Luc smiled. “Because he’s a loyal friend. I told him as long as you were happy, I wasn’t going to say anything.” 

“Oh.  I guess I should have told you a long time ago...”  she trailed off and he placed a finger against her lips. “Shh. Don’t think about it. I told you, that’s the past. This is now.  Do you want to get any more sleep?”

“Actually,” she blushed, “Can we have our cake from dinner?  I’m a little hungry.”  He chuckled.  “Sure, I’ll go get it.”  He swung his legs over the side of the bed and Beverly got a good look at his naked rear. “Mm, you have a....what was it you said to me earlier?  _Délicieux derrière_?”  He rolled his eyes.  “Incorrigible.”

“Yep, but you love me.”

“I do indeed.  Tea to go with your cake?”

“Yes, please!”  Beverly took the opportunity to get out of bed to head to the bathroom. She debated putting back on her nightgown, but settled for her faded bathrobe.  It was comfortable, and she knew Jean-Luc wouldn’t mind it wasn’t sexy.

Jean-Luc smiled at the vision before him when he returned to their bedroom.  She had fallen into a light doze while resting against the headboard with the blanket across her lap. Her comfortable, fairly ratty bathrobe was loosely tied in a way that gave him a delightful view of her breasts and the blanket was pulled tight in just the right way to showcase her belly where his child grew.

 He paused for a moment and thanked the fates or whatever deity had smiled on him in the past few days.  She was having his child.  He'd heard adoptive parents before speaking of how much they loved their child before they met them, whether through surrogacy or an agency, and their stories were always the same.  He had never understood before, but he did now.  He knew he loved Wesley with his entire being.  His parentage didn't matter, nor did the circumstances of his birth.  He would be Wesley Howard, perhaps Wesley Picard, but in either case, Beverly's child was his.

He set the tray down and went to her side. He sat and woke her gently. "Love?"

“Mm?”  Beverly sleepily opened her eyes and smiled. “Hi,”

“Hi yourself.  Did you want to eat or do you just want to go back to sleep?” 

“Both?”  Jean-Luc laughed and placed the tray across her lap.  “I brought you a camomile tea.” She sniffed the fragrant water in appreciation.  “Thanks.”  She reached for a fork and he pushed her hand away, instead using the fork in his own hand to carefully place a morsel of cake in her mouth.  She smiled around the mouthful and swallowed. “This is romantic, but I’m perfectly capable of feeding myself.” 

“I know.  I just wanted to....”  he trailed off, not entirely sure once again how to put his feelings into words.  She motioned for him to bring his face closer and she kissed hm.  “I know.” 

“You do?”

“Mm-hmm,”  Beverly reached for the fork and scooped up some cake, holding it up to his mouth. “Your turn.” 

###

“Jean-Luc,”  Beverly called from the bathroom where she had been taking a bath.  He had _tried_ to join her, but the bath in her small set of quarters simply wasn’t large enough for both of them and her belly.  So instead he had kissed her and told her to enjoy her bath, choosing to get some work done at her console instead.  When she called his name an hour later, he smiled and came back into the bathroom.  “Can you help me out?”  He grinned. “What are you going to do while I’m away?”

“Not take a bath, _obviously_. It’ll be showers only until you get back.”  He nodded and held out his hands.  “How can I help?”

“I just need your arms for leverage.”  Beverly gripped his arm and managed to stand up in the tub.  He held onto her while she carefully stepped over the edge and she smiled when he passed her a fluffy towel.  “Thanks.” 

“Of course.  Do you have to work today?” 

“Doctor Quaice has been having me sit the afternoon shift. It’s been easier and allowed me to get things done in the mornings.” 

“So what do we need to do this morning?”  She shrugged as she ran the towel through her hair. “Not much.  Finish putting the nursery together if you’re adamant to do it before you have to go.” 

“I am.  Just in case young Mister Howard makes his appearance before I’m back.”  She smiled. “Not Picard?”

“Well...I didn’t want to assume anything.”  He grasped her hand. “I would be honoured if you gave our son my name, but I also understand if you don’t want to yet.”

“Hmm.  Picard.  Because when we have another, I would want Wesley and his sibling to have the same last name.”  Jean-Luc sputtered.  “A...another? Erm...Can’t we...uhm...have the first?” 

Beverly laughed.  “The look on your face,”  she leaned over and kissed him.  “We can, but I don’t want our children to be too far apart in age.  Maybe a year or two.” 

Jean-Luc was still speechless. “You...you want to have a second child with me?” 

“Well,  I hadn’t really thought about it until just now, but yes. I think we should have more than one, don’t you?”  Jean-Luc reached for Beverly’s hand and gave it a squeeze.  “Yes,” his voice was full of emotion as the full ramifications of what Beverly was telling him slammed into him.  “I’d like that.” 

###

Jean-Luc sighed as he picked up his small bag. “I don’t want to leave you,”  he pressed a kiss to her lips.

“I know. But you need to tie up a few things if you’ll be gone for a year....”  She frowned. “I don’t want you to go, either.” He twined their fingers together.  “I could order Walker to bring the ship here instead.” 

"You could, but there's no need." Beverly kissed the hand she held. "The Quaices will check in on me, and we'll talk daily. Admiral Quinn has already said that if Wesley comes early, you can start your leave as soon as you get the message that I'm in labour." She smiled. "Besides, you'll be no further away than Eris.”

“I know.  Just...argh!”  Jean-Luc let out a little frustrated cry and Beverly didn’t bother to conceal her smile.  Jean-Luc dropped to his knees to press his lips to her burgeoning belly. “And you, young man.  You be good for Mommy.  No punching her or keeping her up late or giving her more heartburn.”  Beverly grinned.

“Yeah, good luck with all of those.”  He rose and took her hand once more.

“Well, it was worth a try.  And you’re _sure_ you’ll be alright?”  Beverly softly smiled.  It was no use telling Jean-Luc she had been fine on her own before and if she was honest, she thought the way he was doting on her was adorable.  She leaned forward and kissed him.  “Yes.  And you can call me every hour if you want.” 

“I just might.”

“I’ll hold you to it!” Jean-Luc looked visibly distressed.  “Ergh!  I just....Beverly, I love you so much.”

“I know, I love you too.” 

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess.  I just...I never expected... _any_ of this and now I find myself unable to think about anything other than you and Wesley.”  Beverly laughed. 

“Go back to your ship.  Walker will make fun of you if he doesn’t hear from you soon.” 

“Well, there is that.”  He pressed another desperate kiss to Beverly’s lips.  “Two weeks.  I’ll be back in two weeks.  Sooner if you need me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.  Now _go.”_ Beverly smiled as she watched Jean-Luc walk down the corridor towards the docking bay and she patted her belly.  “Well, Wesley.  It’s just you and I for two weeks.  What will we do with ourselves?” 


	5. Chapter 5

Walker was waiting for Jean-Luc when he exited the small shuttle.  He clapped Jean-Luc on the back.  “Captain, what’s this I hear you’re giving me the ship for a year?”  Walker winked and fell in line with Jean-Luc as he walked through the ship.

“Yes, Number One.  Perhaps we should talk...in private.” 

“It’s still your ready room, _Sir_.”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes at his friend.  “Quite. My ready room, twenty minutes.  I need to make a quick call first.”  Walker could only smirk as he left Jean-Luc outside his quarters.

Jean-Luc entered his quarters and was a bit sad not to see Beverly’s blanket draped across the sofa or her medical PADDs littering the desk.  He wondered what his quarters would look like next year.  The second bedroom had been unused since he took the Captaincy, but it would be perfect as a room for Wesley.  He closed his eyes and pictured his quarters as their home and smiled to himself.  Yes, it would be perfect.

He dropped his bag and made his way to his comm unit and tapped in the access to go directly to Beverly’s quarters. 

 _“Hi,”_ She smiled.  “ _Missed us already?”_  

“You know I do, Bev.  I just wanted to let you know I made it back to the ship.”  She nodded. “ _We miss you too.  But work should distract me this afternoon.  I’ll call you tonight?_ ” 

He grinned. “What about checking in every hour?”  She laughed. “ _I can, if you’d like. There won’t be much to say_.”

“Mm, but I’ll get to see your face.” She smiled again. “ _I love you.”_

“I love you too.  Picard out.”

He carried his bag into his bedroom and quickly unpacked, though he wasn’t entirely sure why he bothered when he would only be packing once more for his temporary move to Starbase 32.  He adjusted his uniform and headed back out the door and straight for his ready room, where Walker was waiting for him. 

“Number One.”

 _“Captain_.” Walker grinned and Jean-Luc couldn’t help but grin back.  “At ease, Number One. I need to talk to my best friend, not my First Officer right now.” 

“Good. Because I need to speak with mine....what the hell is going on, Johnny?  You stopped by to see Beverly after your meeting and you were supposed to be back the next day, but Beverly filed for divorce and you added two weeks of leave and had Jack transferred off but now you’re taking _paternity_ leave?!  Is Beverly having your baby?” 

“Ah....”  Jean-Luc rubbed the back of his neck and Walker’s mouth dropped open. “You and Bev had an affair?!” 

“No...nothing like that.  I swear to you, Walker.  I never touched Beverly until her divorce was final.  But yes, she’s having my baby.  Erm,  I mean, biologically, the baby is Jack’s. But in every other sense of the word....Wesley will be my son.”

“I think you need to start at the beginning, Johnny.....”  Jean-Luc strode over to the replicator.  “It’s times like these, I wish we could replicate something stronger than synthehol.” 

“I have a bottle of whisky in my quarters”  Jean-Luc nodded at his friend. “Let’s go.  This is definitely a whisky conversation.” The men stepped back onto the bridge and Jean-Luc nodded to the next ranking officer. "Lieutenant Sanders, you have the bridge."

"Aye, Sir."

 ####

"What the hell, Johnny?" Walker poured them each two fingers of whisky and passed one to his friend.

"Remember when Jack took leave a couple of months ago to be at Beverly's scan?"

"Yes?" Walker dragged the word out.

 "He never went."

"Well, I knew he'd gone gambling, but..."

"He lied to us." Jean-Luc sighed. "He spent his entire time on the freighter. He never even called her, because he knew her scan wasn't scheduled for another two weeks."

"So he called her then, right?"

 "Don't we wish." Picard rolled his eyes. "Let me start at the very beginning." Walker nodded and waved. "Beverly wasn't expecting to get pregnant. Wesley is what Beverly has referred to as a happy accident, but Jack was less than pleased."

"He said he was happy." Walker looked confused.

"Jack wasn't honest about a lot of things, Walker." Jean-Luc ran his hand over his face. "Beverly was under the impression that I had rejected his request to accompany me to the base to see her. She was a little confused as to why he wasn't coming, and I told her the story he had told me." Jean-Luc took a sip of his whisky. "He was saving his leave."

 "What about paternity leave?"

 "Beverly called him, and while he wasn't aware that I was there, told her I'd been thinking of rejecting his paternity leave."

 "That's outrageous!"

"It is." Picard nodded. "His lies began unravelling at that point." He began listing Jack's wrongs, including emptying his and Beverly's joint account.

 "I'm glad you were there with her." Walker sat back. "How is she?"

 "She's stronger than I ever realized."

 "You always listed her among the strongest people you knew."

 "Yes, and she's stronger than I'd given her credit for." Picard smiled. "She filed for divorce and that was it."

 "Jack?"

"He signed the documents less than an hour after he got them. Their divorce is already finalized."

 "So where do you come in?" Walker sat back with a smile on his face.

"I love her." Walker rolled his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know."

"I told her I'd be willing to spend some time helping her after Wesley was born."

 "That still doesn't translate into full paternity leave." Walker glared at his friend. "Come on. Kiss and tell."

Jean-Luc quirked an eyebrow. "Kiss and tell? What are we, twelve?"

 "You haven't told her you love her yet, have you?" Walker's eyes bulged from his head. "Are you trying to give her time, or is it just too soon, or..." Picard held his hand up to stave the flow of his friend's rapid words.

"I have told her, and she knows." Jean-Luc grinned. "She loves me back." He sat back and watched as Walker blew out a breath.

 "Good. Good." Keel blew out another breath. "You had me worried for a minute." He waited until Picard took a sip of his whisky. “She name your willie yet?” Walker sat back, laughing, as he watched his best friend struggle to swallow before he spit liquor across the room.

“ _Walker!”_   Walker was still laughing at his friend. “Your face....but seriously, how does any of this translate to you now taking paternity leave?”

“I told you, Beverly is having my baby. As far as we’re concerned, Jack was simply a sperm donor.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”  Walker looked at his best friend incredulously.  “Johnny...I mean, I know you’ve been in love with Beverly for years, but...are you sure you want to raise Jackie’s kid with her?”

“Yes. Absolutely.  I would ask her to marry me tomorrow if I thought she would say yes-“

_“Bridge to Captain Picard.”_

“Picard here.”

 _“Sir, you have a transmission from Starbase thirty-two.”_ Jean-Luc grinned at Walker. “Put it through to Commander Keel’s quarters.”

 _“Aye, Sir.”_   Jean-Luc turned to his friend. “If I may?”

“Be my guest.”  Jean-Luc strode over to Walker’s comm unit and activated it. Beverly’s face filled the screen. 

“ _It’s been longer than an hour....thought I’d call you instead.”_ Jean-Luc grinned. “I’m with Walker right now.  He’s asking me....well, everything.” Beverly grinned.  _“Walker! Are you trying to embarrass Jean-Luc?”_

“Hiya, Bev.  I just want to know what’s going on.  So...you guys are together now?”  Beverly nodded.  “ _We are.”_

“Ah, that’s good.  Bev, I’m really pleased for you.  Jack was a jerk.”  Beverly snorted.  _“Is this where I remind you that you were the one who introduced me to him?”_

Walker rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, Bev.”

_“I’ll forgive you. Now, I know you two.  What are you drinking?”_

“Whisky from Marova. If you were here...well, I suppose I _can’t_ offer you any.  But after that kid is born...” 

 _“I look forward to it.  Jean-Luc, I just wanted to let you know I’m going to have dinner with the Quaices so it might be late when I call you later.”_ He smiled. “Enjoy your meal.  I love you.” 

 _“I love you too. Howard out.”_  When Beverly’s face faded, Walker nudged Jean-Luc. “You didn’t even blush.”  Walker took another sip of his Whisky just as Jean-Luc quietly spoke.  “Rumpleforeskin.” 

It was Walker’s turn to spit out his drink.

###

“You’ve had a lot of changes in your life recently,” Patricia Quaice said as she handed Beverly a cup of tea.  “How are you doing, dear?” 

Beverly smiled at the older woman. “I’m alright, Patty.  Honest.  It was....unexpected, but...” 

“You’re happier now,  I can tell.  I always said to Dalen that the young Captain was hiding his love for you.”  Beverly blushed.  “I never knew.  Sometimes I wonder if I had known if I would have married Jack in the first place.”  Beverly frowned and placed a hand on her belly. “But then....”

“You might not be pregnant.  Although, if you had married your captain, I’m sure you would have had a baby or two by now.”  Beverly blushed again.  “I told him I want to have a second child. He nearly fainted.”  Patricia smiled. “I think all men are like that, dear.  Of course, Dalen and I were never able to have children of our own.”

“I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t talk about it then.”  Patricia waved her hand. “It’s fine, dear.  We’re far too old now to think about children, and besides, I like to think of you and the other junior doctors and nurses as our children, and this one had better call me grandma.”  Beverly smiled. “I’ll make sure he does.” 

“Are you staying here on base after you give birth?”  Beverly nodded. “Jean-Luc offered to live wherever I wanted, but I honestly don’t really have a home to go to. There’s my nana on Caldos, but I wouldn’t want to raise the baby there.  I suppose we could go to Jean-Luc’s home in France...”  Beverly trailed off. “I wonder what his parents will think about all of this.” 

“They will love you and your baby, I’m sure of it.” 

“I hope so.  I hadn’t really thought about grandparents until you brought it up.  I guess Jack’s parents should be informed....” she shook her head. “Well, I’ll send them a note.  I will inform them of the divorce and of the no contact, and let them decide if they want to receive updates on Wesley.  But I won’t allow Wesley to see them if there’s any chance of Jack being around.”  Beverly paused to sip at her cup of tea and Patricia patted her arm. 

“I’m sure you’ll work out something.  Is Jack _really_ that terrible?” 

“In a word?  Yes.  Patty, the man gambled our entire savings – my entire savings – the week he was supposed to be here for my scan.  He lied to me and to his superior officer....more than once.  And he honestly wasn’t interested in becoming a father.  Sure, he pretended he was excited but do you know I actually spoke with Jean-Luc and Walker more than Jack?  Jean-Luc and I would talk twice a week unless one of us was too busy or on shift, then we would leave each other a message.  Jack?  I was lucky if he called me or answered my calls a few times a month.”  Beverly sighed. “Patty, why did it take so long for me to see how horrible of a husband he was?” 

“Rose coloured glasses, dear.”

###

Jean-Luc was in his quarters sorting his belongings.  He would be away from the ship for the full twelve months of paternity leave granted to him now as Beverly’s co-parent and he wanted to make sure his quarters would be ready for Beverly and Wesley to join him at the end of the year.  He didn’t know what a one-year-old would need in their bedroom, so he left the room alone, figuring they could always have Walker get the furniture they needed.  He carefully made room for Beverly to move her belongings into his closet and dresser, and created room for her books on the shelves. 

He labelled one box with the coordinates for his parent’s house in La Barre.  The box would get shipped back and then would eventually get delivered, where he knew his mother would have it stored in the loft or in his old bedroom for him.  It was things he didn’t think he would want anymore – a few archaeological finds, some books, and other trinkets he had collected.  He didn’t keep much clothing to begin with and he would need most of it on Starbase Thirty-Two, so his clothing went into a suitcase.  He fumbled in the back of his sock drawer and pulled out a box.  It was a necklace he had purchased several years ago for Beverly, but then had decided it wasn’t the type of gift you gave your best friend.  So he had given her a book for her twenty-first birthday instead and the necklace had been shoved in his drawer. 

He added it to his suitcase, thinking it would make a nice gift for the mother of his child. 

Jean-Luc laughed when his comms unit chimed with a call.

“Beverly.”

 _“Just giving you an hourly update to tell you I’m fine.”_ He grinned.  “We are quite silly, aren’t we?”

_“Only a little.  I’m going to go in and assist on a surgery, so I might not be here next hour.”_

“Is that safe?”

 _“Well, I’m not the one having surgery, so yes.”_   There was mirth in her eyes, but Jean-Luc hung his head. “Sorry. I’m being overprotective again, aren’t I?”

_“It’s very sweet.  I love you.”_

“Love you, too.  Picard out.” He smiled when her image faded.  Either she called him or he called her every hour and they treated it as a bit of a joke since most of the time there was no new update on either end to give the other and they both just wanted to see each other’s faces.  Their only really long chats were at night when they would both get in their separate beds and talk until one of them yawned – usually Beverly –  and then they would say goodnight.  In the morning, whoever woke up first would always call the other.  Walker thought they were entirely too sweet and had taken to pretending to gag when they would call each other in his presence.

Jean-Luc glanced a the chronometer.  Almost time for his meeting with Walker.  This time, they were meeting as First Officer and Captain and Jean-Luc would be beginning to turn over command to Walker for the year. Jean-Luc had little doubt that by the end of the year his friend would be offered a command of his own.

###

Jean-Luc sat at his console and debated calling home.  He rarely called his parents, but his mother sent him letters weekly and he always made the effort to write back.  He debated what he would even tell them.  How do you tell your parents they are going to be grandparents in a few weeks to a child he wasn’t the biological father of?  Jean-Luc sighed and tapped in the familiar old codes.  At any rate, he would have to give his parents instructions on how to reach him on the base instead of his ship.

Thankfully, his mother answered.

_“Ah, Jean-Luc. C'est bon de te voir“._

_“Maman, C'est bon de te voir aussi.”_ Jean-Luc smiled at his mother and easily slipped back into French.  “Maman, I needed to talk to you.” 

 _“Of course, Jean-Luc.  Do you want me to get your father, too_?”  Jean-Luc shook his head. “No.  You can tell him later.”  Jean-Luc took a deep breath.

“Maman, do you remember Beverly?”

_“The doctor?”_

“Yes.”

_“I remember you telling me about her.  Isn’t she pregnant?”_

“She is...and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”  The story came out in a rush.  He told his mother everything, from Jack’s betrayal to his and Beverly’s declarations of love for each other.  Yvette smiled at her son while she listened. 

 _“So, I am to be a grandmother, then.”_ Jean-Luc grinned.

“Yes.  I know it’s unconventional....and I know what Papa will say...” 

_“You leave him to me.  Promise you will bring Beverly and Wesley to visit us?”_

“I’m taking my full year of paternity leave alongside Beverly.  I’m sure we can find time.”  He smiled at his mother, always glad for her acceptance.

_“Good.  You will let me know.  Jean-Luc, I love you.”_

“I love you too, Maman.  Oh, Maman...Beverly doesn’t speak French, so please, could you speak Standard when you talk to her?” Yvette nodded.  “Thank you, Maman.  I’ll call you when the baby is born.” 

Yvette ended the call and went into the kitchen to make a pot of tea. She would have to think about how she would tell Maurice, but she herself was overjoyed at the prospect of becoming a grandmother.

###

"He's destroyed a marriage then?" Maurice glared at his wife.

"No, he hasn't. Beverly's ex-husband did that all on his own. Our son declared his love for her after she had already filed for divorce, but he’s been in love with her for a very long time, dear."

"Will they raise the boy on their own, or will they have one of those infernal custody agreements?"

 "Jack signed over all parental rights."  Yvette reached out and patted her husband's arm. "Wesley will have our family name from the beginning.  He is Jean-Luc's son in every way that matters."

 "Biology matters." Maurice grouched at his wife. She sat and looked at him quietly.  She hated when he became stubborn and set, especially when he was set against their younger son.  He finally reached out and patted her hand. "For your sake and the baby's I'll try."

“And Jean-Luc’s. It’s time you mend some fences with our youngest.”

“And Jean-Luc.”

"Thank you." Yvette left the room and Maurice sat in quiet contemplation. He had expected his family line to die with his two stubborn sons. Robert had been married and divorced twice, both times without children. He had assumed Jean-Luc was married to his starship. Perhaps he had been wrong after all. He crossed his arms and scowled. Could he accept a grandchild who wasn't his? His expression changed as he remembered the shattered look on his cousin's face as his father denounced her as not "really" being his niece because she had been adopted. Yvette came back into the kitchen and kissed his head as she walked by.  He caught her hand.

"You say the baby is a boy?"

 "Yes." Maurice nodded after a moment.

 "Have they chosen a name yet?"

 "Wesley. Wesley Picard."

 "No middle name?" He scowled.

"They haven't said yet." Maurice nodded and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"

 "I need to speak with the mayor, " he shrugged. "There are traditions to follow."

###

Beverly sat on the biobed after her latest exam with Doctor Quaice.  Jean-Luc would be back in three days, but she couldn’t put off her check-ups, even if she wished he was there for it.  Doctor Quaice and her studied the monitor.  “Everything looks great, Beverly.  I think we can confidently say that Wesley isn’t going to make his appearance for at least three more weeks.”  She smiled. 

“Thank you, Dalen.”  She looked at the latest scan of Wesley and sighed.  Quaice caught her sigh and patted her shoulder.  “Are you alright?  I know I’m your doctor and your superior, but I hope you also can see me as a friend.” 

“I’m alright.  I just....I wish Wesley really _was_ Jean-Luc’s son biologically.  Not because I think he would treat Wesley any less than if we have a second child together, but just because I love Jean-Luc and I don’t want Wesley to remind me of Jack.”  Quaice nodded and began tapping on his PADD. 

“You know, there _is_ a way.” 

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, it’s only just now out of testing, but they have successfully re-written human DNA.  Of course, in that case it was due to a defect in the actual DNA, but it definitely has application.  We _could_ alter Wesley’s DNA to reflect Jean-Luc as his biological parent.”  Beverly pondered her superior’s words.  “Would it harmWesley?”  Dalen shook his head.  “He’ll hardly notice if we do it in utero. The downside is you are measuring at thirty-seven weeks gestation, and this has been done much earlier in the test cases.”

“Hmm. So..what would happen?”

“We would need a sample of Jean-Luc’s DNA.  Then we would extract DNA from Wesley in utero, replace Jack’s DNA with Jean-Luc’s, and inject it back into Wesley.  It’s not instant, but as old cells die and new cells are created, they would reflect Jean-Luc as his father.”

“It’s....interesting.  But, Dalen, how is it any different than the ‘designer babies’ they used to create in the 2100s? Wasn’t that outlawed?”  Dalen shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Well....”

“No, Dalen.  I won’t do it.  I appreciate the offer, but Wesley doesn’t need to be injected with Jean-Luc’s DNA to call him Papa.”  Dalen hung his head. “I’m sorry I brought it up. Are you going to tell Jean-Luc?” 

Beverly shook her head. “No.  Not because I think he’d be upset with me for saying no, but because I’m afraid he would think I don’t consider him Wesley’s father unless they share DNA.” 

“I understand. And, I’m sorry again.”    Beverly patted the arm of her mentor. “It’s alright, Dalen. I know you were only trying to help.  And I have to admit....it _is_ tempting.  But...”

“Unnecessary.”   Beverly nodded. “Exactly.” 

###

Jean-Luc stood on the bridge for what would be his last time for several months. The Stargazer was docked with the station, and he was ready to relinquish command to his friend. He gazed around at the old familiar bridge and felt not the sadness one would expect a Captain to feel at leaving his command, but one of happiness, joy, and the overall elated feeling that came with the prospect of being reunited with the woman he loved, and the baby she was carrying. He nodded at each of his bridge officers, wondering how many of them would find new posts or be promoted in his absence.  He shared a look with Walker and nodded once more.  "Commander Walker Keel, you have the bridge."

 "You are relieved, Sir." The two men smiled at each other before shaking hands. "I'll take good care of your ship." Picard nodded.

"Between you and your First Officer," he nodded to Lieutenant Marfsko, the recently promoted Second Officer, "I have no doubt."

"You'll let us know when the baby's born?"

"Yes." Jean-Luc grinned. "You're the first to know after her grandmother and my parents. And I’m sure Beverly expects you to visit before the ship leaves in the morning."

Walker chuckled as his Commanding officer headed for the lift. "Take good care of your family, Rumple."


	6. Chapter 6

Jean-Luc rushed down the gangway to the station, and grinned when he saw Beverly waiting for him. She looked simply stunning with one hand pushing her hair back and the other resting across their child. She looked up, caught his eye and her smile brightened. He hurried down the gangway the rest of the way and swept her up into his arms, kissing her deeply, heedless of anyone else standing around in the docking bay. She caught his bottom lip between hers and gently sucked as his arms travelled down her back to gently squeeze her hips.

“Hello, Papa,” she breathed out as she rested her forehead against his.

“Hey, Mommy.” His hand slid across to her belly and he leaned in to kiss her again. “I’ve missed you.” He felt a small thump against his hand and he smiled against her lips “I missed you too, little guy.”

“We missed you too.” Beverly captured his lips in another deep kiss and slid her fingers to the fringe behind his ears. It was still her favourite part of his face to touch. He closed his eyes and let out a soft moan as her fingers gently stroked his ears.

“Beverly, _Tu me rends fou ma femme insatiable_ ”.

 “What did you say?” She whispered. He kissed her again. “I said you are insatiable, woman.” She grinned. “Let’s go home.” He placed his arm around her shoulders and she wound hers on his waist. “Where are your belongings?”

 “They’ll be beamed to our quarters, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried. If you don’t have any clothes, you’ll just have to walk around the place naked. Oh, darn,” she smirked.

He dropped a kiss on her ear and gently bit on her earlobe. “Have I mentioned you are insatiable.”

“It’s the pregnancy hormones.”

“Oh no, my love, you can’t blame this on Wesley.” She smiled and turned her head to give him a quick kiss. “It was worth a shot.”

They walked through the corridors wrapped in each other’s arms, occasionally stopping to exchange kisses once more. They had only been apart for two weeks, but it felt like it had been much longer.  A few people they passed in the corridors said hello to the couple, or asked Jean-Luc about his ship, or about the pregnancy, but no one batted an eye over seeing the two of them together, solidifying in Beverly’s mind that everyone had assumed she was Jean-Luc’s partner from the beginning, and that Wesley was his son. She let out a snort of laughter that caught Jean-Luc’s attention. “What’s so amusing?”

Beverly moved her hand from his waist to hold his hand. “Nothing. Well, just...no one cares that I’m with you now and not Jack. It’s like...everyone we knew on the base already assumed you and I were together. Made me laugh.” He chuckled.

“I suppose they thought your last name was ‘Crusher’ because Jack was your brother or a cousin?” Beverly shrugged. “Who knows. Don’t care. Jack who?” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

“Are we almost home yet?”

“One more corridor, why?” He growled into her ear.

“Because I’d like to get you and your _Délicieux derrière_ out of that uniform and in our bed.” She blushed and he grinned. They rounded the corner and Jean-Luc grinned when he saw the nameplate outside their door.

_Howard, Beverly, MD, Lt._

_Picard, Jean-Luc, Cpt._

“I see you’ve been busy.”

“I just thought...” she trailed off. “Did I do something wrong?”

 “No, no my love. It’s perfect.” He entered the code to their quarters and when the door slid shut, his fingers went to the zip on the back of her uniform.

 "Finally alone." He kissed her passionately, almost desperately, and she returned his fervour.

He pulled her maternity smock over the top of her head and he pressed hot wet kisses to her exposed chest. Maternity bras weren’t the sexiest thing in the world, but Jean-Luc didn’t care. His fingers found the clasp and he unhooked her bra.

“Um. Be careful? I’m leaking.”

 _“Leaking_?”

 “My milk...it’s...normal, trust me. I just...ah....” He nodded and gently touched her breasts. “I promise, nothing will upset me or gross me out.”

“You say that now, but wait until I give birth.” He shook his head. “Less talking. More naked.”

 She grinned as she found the hidden zip on the new style of jumpsuit Jean-Luc was wearing and tugged it down to his navel. She shook her head. “Not designed very well, are they?” She had tugged his arms free and now it hung around his hips, almost like a deep sea diver’s wetsuit.

 “It’s a little cumbersome.” She gave him a saucy grin and pulled the jumpsuit down until it pooled around his knees. “You’ll have to get it off the rest of the way. I can’t bend.” He smirked and dropped to his knees, pressing a kiss against her belly before he hooked his fingers in the waist of her maternity leggings and tugged both her leggings and her knickers down in one go. He ran his hand across her backside and murmured “ _délicieux_ ”. Beverly stumbled and he caught her around her hips, holding her close and pressing her into his face. “Oooooooh,” was the last coherent noise to come out of Beverly’s mouth for quite some time.

###

Beverly's back didn't itch for the first time in days. She smiled at the sounds coming from the bathroom where her boyfriend was tidying up after their steamy shower. They had knocked down the rack containing Beverly’s hair care products in their haste to be together. She chuckled at the quiet curse as he stubbed his toe on the stool she'd moved into the small room so she could sit if she needed.

"I hear you laughing out there."

"Sorry." She didn't sound the slightest bit sorry, and he grinned at his reflection. "Do you need cream anywhere else?"

 "No." She blushed.  She had a thought of where she'd like something, but it certainly wasn't anything she was up for right now.

"My back was the worst."

 "If you're sure." He crossed the room and laid down behind her, snuggling in tightly to her back. He caressed her gently, trailing his fingers over her body before holding her close. "I missed you."

 "I missed you, too." Jean-Luc kissed the back of her neck, smiling at the already-familiar habit. "Go to sleep, and we'll call Walker once you're rested. I'm sorry you haven't slept well the last few nights."

 "Thank you." Beverly yawned as she snuggled back against Jean-Luc's chest. His arms tightened as he pressed a kiss to her neck. "I'm sure I'll sleep better now that you're home." She chuckled as he rubbed the spot Wesley was kicking at. Her son kicked his Papa another time before rolling a bit and punching at another area. She looked down at her swell as Jean-Luc moved his hand to where the baby's hand had pushed against the confines of her womb. "Mommy's trying to sleep." Jean-Luc chuckled into her hair as Wesley hit again.

"I think he's excited to have you home." She grasped his fingers as he traced the tiny outline she assumed was probably their son's foot. "I'm glad to be back, as well."  Jean-Luc chuckled when her stomach growled loudly. Wesley beat against his father's hand at the same time as if to demand he be fed. "What would you like?" He was already moving from her side and preparing to stand. "Pizza." She yawned. "I'll get up. But pizza with pineapple and a stuffed crust."

"Are you sure?" His mind sped to her recent bout of heartburn. Her eyes filled with tears as she had the sudden and hormone-fuelled thought that he was upset at her larger size. She was measuring at the perfect weight for her gestation, and... "Hey." His hand cupped her cheek and he leaned in, kissing her passionately. "I'm just worried about heartburn. You told me it happened the last time you had something with tomatoes.”

 "That's part of pregnancy."  She offered him a watery smile. "Any chance of sausage on that pizza?" "Sure." He paused for a moment. "Will you be upset if I get something else?"

 "No." She laughed. "The idea of pineapple, sausage, and pizza sauce used to be disgusting. Then one day about two months ago it sounded delicious." She grinned. "I don't eat it often, but Wesley and I enjoy every bite."

“Replicated or do you want me to go up to the Italian place and get it?” Beverly batted her eyes. “Please?” Jean-Luc pretended to grumble while he went to retrieve his uniform from the living room floor. “Anything else while I’m up there?”

 “Gelato. Mango if they have it.”

 “You’re the boss.”

###

 Jean-Luc strolled up to the Italian restaurant on the seventh level they had eaten at a few weeks ago and the server smiled at him.

“Out without the Mrs?” Jean-Luc grinned. Maybe Beverly was right and everyone assumed they were together.

“No, but she wanted me to come pick up a pizza for her. Large, stuffed crust, with ham, pineapple, and sausage.”

“No olives?” Jean-Luc frowned.

 “She didn’t say....” The server chuckled. “Tell you what, I’ll put a little dish of olives in the box, then if she wants them, she can add them.” Jean-Luc smiled. “Thanks. And can you add in a small plain pizza for me? Oh, and some mango gelato.” “Coming up. Give me....fifteen minutes.” Jean-Luc nodded. “I’ll be back.”

He wandered through the rest of the shopping area of the station and paused outside a jeweller. Should he? He wondered what Beverly would say if he bought her a ring and he found himself walking into the shop. “Hello, Captain. What can I do for you?” Jean-Luc smiled at the little man behind the counter .

“Browsing.”

“Anything in particular? A present for the Mrs, perhaps?” Jean-Luc smiled. Obviously, word got around. “Do you sell self-adjusting rings? I’d like to get Beverly a ring, but her fingers....”

“Are currently swollen due to her pregnancy. I know. It’s funny women don’t even think about that when they first get their wedding rings. I do happen to have a limited selection if you’d like to take a look...” Jean-Luc was directed to a case full of rings. He found a simple solitaire that came with a matching wedding band and he pointed at them. “A wise, selection, Captain. Would you like the matching ring for yourself?” Jean-Luc found his throat thick with emotion and he could only nod at the jeweller.

 Jean-Luc was soon handed a PADD to press his thumb to to authorise the sale and he was handed the small bag. He frowned. With no pockets on his uniform, how was he going to hide the rings from Beverly? He went back to the restaurant and picked up the two boxes of pizza and the tub of gelato and he grinned to himself as he slid open the box containing her concoction and placed the solitaire in the center of the pie. He then opened the box with his own smaller pizza and saw there was just enough space for the box to sit next to his meal. Satisfied, and hoping Beverly wouldn’t be upset with him, he whistled a cheery French tune as he walked back to their quarters.

Doubt began to set in as he got closer to their quarters. _Is it too soon? We’ve been together for only a month...but she wants me to be Wesley’s father, so that means she wants to be committed to me...right?_ He debated opening the pizza box and taking the ring off her pizza when the door to their quarters slid open on its own accord. “I could smell that pizza coming down the hall! Gimmie!” Jean-Luc laughed at his girlfriend, hopefully soon to be fiancée and carried the boxes over to the table where Beverly had already set out plates and drinks.

“He seemed surprised you didn’t ask for olives, so he added them in a small dish just in case.”

 “Oooh, good idea.” Beverly glanced at the smaller box he sat down in front of his place. “That’s it?” “Well, I thought I might try one slice of yours.” She smiled. “Maybe I’ll share.”

She popped open the box and stared at the pizza with her mouth gaping open. “Beverly, my love? Is something wrong with your pizza?”

“N....no...Jean-Luc...but....maybe you could explain this?” She held up the ring and he smiled and walked over to her and got down on his knee in front of her. Tears filled her eyes as she knew exactly what the ring was and exactly what Jean-Luc was about to do. He reached for her hands. “Beverly, my love.”

“Jean-Luc?”

 “I know we’ve only been together for a short amount of time, but I also know that we are committed to being together for the rest of our lives,” He dropped a gentle kiss on her belly and was rewarded with a bop on the nose. Beverly softly smiled.

“Y...yes?” He grinned.

“Can I ask you the question first?”

“Sorry!” He chuckled.

“Well, it’s not like anything we’ve done is particularly conventional, so why would our proposal be?” He slid the ring onto her finger and was pleased to see it adjust itself automatically to her finger. “Beverly? Will you...”

“I will. I do. I....” Beverly fell to her knees on the floor in front of him and kissed him. “Yes. Yes. I love you.” “I love you too.” He deeply kissed her and lowered her to the floor. She laughed against his lips. “My pizza is going to get cold....”

 “I’ll get you a new one.”

 ###

 Beverly glanced up from between Jean-Luc’s legs at the look of pure bliss on Jean-Luc’s face. “Enjoy that, did you?”

  _“Incroyable! Magnifique! Ta bouche ... tes lèvres ... dents..langue ... doigts ... Je t'aime, ma belle femme.”_ Beverly laughed

“You’re speaking French again....”

“Sorry. I love you, Beverly. You didn’t have to do that....” Beverly gently traced a finger along Jean-Luc’s inner thigh, making him jump again. “I know. But I wanted to. I love you, too.” Beverly shifted. “But, uhm...help a girl up?” He chuckled.

“Give me a minute?”

 “Mm.” Beverly continued to walk her fingers along Jean-Luc’s body and gently tickled his hip. He groaned. “Beverly....”

 “Let’s get married.”

“I thought that was what the ring was for? Aren’t we going to at some point?”

“Now. Let’s get married now.” Jean-Luc propped himself up on his elbows to look at her. “Really?”

“Really. I want us to be married before Wesley is born. And....I want you to make love to me tonight as your wife.” Jean-Luc grinned and pulled Beverly up his body so he could kiss her, then laughed when her belly got in the way. “Hmm. We’ll have to be creative.” Beverly rolled to her side and Jean-Luc faced her and kissed her deeply. “Mm, much better.”

 “So can we?”

“If this is really what you want. What about having your nana here?”

“We’ll call her on subspace. Your parents too,” Beverly blushed. “I think your mother would appreciate it.”

“You do, do you?”

 “I might have been...chatting with her while you were away.” Jean-Luc raised his eyebrow at his soon-to-be wife. “Oh?”

 “Only since you told her. She called to congratulate me on the baby. I like her.” Jean-Luc held Beverly close. “Good. But I warn you, Papa’s a bit of a bear.”

 “I think I can handle it. So. Wedding? Now?” Jean-Luc grinned and sat up. “Greg did say he was available anytime. And Walker is currently docked....”

“And I can call Dalen and Patty.” She smiled at her fiancé. “Let’s do this.”

 Jean-Luc rose and pulled Beverly to her feet. “I have my dress uniform in the closet.” Beverly frowned. “Would you believe they issued me with a maternity dress uniform? It’s hideous.”

 “So wear a dress.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “Wear whatever you want.” He pulled back on his duty uniform. “What are you doing?”

“It seems I have a few calls to make....”

###

Patricia Quaice arrived with a garment bag tucked over her arm and a large beauty case.  “Jean-Luc, you need to leave.  Take your dress uniform and go to your ship to get dressed. Beverly will see you in the Celebrations Room in two hours.”  Jean-Luc eyed the older woman and shot a glance over at Beverly, who shrugged. 

“Ok...”

“Just go. I promise. You won’t regret it. Now kiss your bride goodbye temporarily....” Jean-Luc grinned and leaned over to press a kiss to Beverly’s lips. “See you in two hours?” 

“I’ll be ready. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” The door slid shut and Patricia grinned at Beverly.  “Alright, let’s get you ready to be a bride.” 

“Patty...I’m fine.”

“Nonsense.  You get yourself in the shower and when you come out, I’ll help you with your dress.”  Beverly frowned. “I don’t even know if I have a nice dress!”  Patricia smiled and indicated the bag over her arm “You do now.  I promise it’s not white.”  Patricia gently nudged Beverly.  “Go take a shower.” 

Beverly smiled and wondered if she should tell the older woman she and Jean-Luc had enjoyed a shower together a few short hours ago, but decided she never did wash her hair, so she retreated into the bathroom wondering what dress her friend had found for her. 

###

Jean-Luc walked up the gangway to his ship and Walker laughed. “Kicked out already?”    Jean-Luc  shrugged. “Girl stuff with Patricia Quaice.  She told me to get dressed here. Want to join me for a drink?”

“Absolutely.”  Walker fell in line with his friend.  “You sure you want to marry Beverly?  Isn’t it soon?” 

“I told you the other day I would ask her to marry me if I thought she would say yes.  Turns out, she said yes.”  Walker smirked.  “But now? Today?  Why not in a few months after the baby is here?” 

“It’s what Beverly wants.  She wants us to be a family when Wesley arrives. Have you figured out how to conference Felisa and my parents in to watch?”  Walker nodded.  “There are two screens in the room we can use.  They won’t be able to see each other and they’ll both watch the same feed, but it can be done.” Jean-Luc grinned at his friend.  “Thanks, Best Man.” 

“Really?” 

“Who else was I going to ask?”  Walker shrugged. “Well, I had _hoped_...”

“But _don’t_ be surprised if Beverly asks you to pull double duty and serve as her...what would you be?  Man of Honour?” 

“I’d prefer, Bro of Honour.”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes.  “Fine.  How long will it take to set up the calls?” 

“Not long.  Did you tell your parents about the wedding already?”  The pair reached Jean-Luc’s quarters and entered, with Walker heading straight to where Jean-Luc used to keep his liquor and did a double take.  “Uh....Johnny? What happened to the booze?” 

“Kitchen. High cabinet on the left.  I babyproofed.” 

“Uh...but it’ll be a baby for like a year, won’t it?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “But when Beverly and I return to the ship, Wesley will be one.  One-year-olds can walk, from what I’ve been told.  I didn’t want him to get into it.”  Walker’s eyes went wide.

“Wow.  You’re going to be such a good dad.”  Jean-Luc blushed. “I hope so.”  He walked into the small kitchen area and pulled down the bottle and two glasses. “One finger or two?”  Walker held up two fingers and Jean-Luc carefully poured out the whisky and held the glass out to Walker.  “Cheers, Wal.” 

“Cheers.  I can’t believe in a few hours you’ll be a married man.” 

###

Beverly stepped into her bedroom wrapped in her bathrobe and gasped at the dress Patricia had laid on the bed.  It was pale purple and looked gorgeous.  Beverly only hoped it would look as nice on her as it did flat on her bed.  The dress was a maternity dress -  Beverly couldn’t have worn a normal dress – but it was also a tight sheath-style with an expanded front for her belly.   Beverly put on the dress and walked towards the mirror and gasped.  The rutching and draping of the dress seemed to both accentuate her pregnancy while also concealing some of what she thought of as unsightly lumps.  She hunted in the closet and came out with a pair of black flats and then frowned.  _Can I wear heels?_ She grinned.  Her _husband_ would rub her feet later. 

Patricia came into the bedroom and smiled. “It looks lovely on you, Beverly.  Would you like me to do your hair?”  Beverly nodded. 

“Where did you get this?” 

“I took a quick trip to the reclamation center and created it.  Do you like it?” 

“I love it.  Thank you, Patty.”  Patricia grinned. “Good.  Now, what do you think of an updo?”

###

Jean-Luc and Walker met Gregory Quaice in the room Patricia had referred to as the ‘Celebrations Room’, but really, it was just a normal function room that was available to serve multiple purposes from holding state dinners and receptions for Ambassadors to concerts and plays from travelling troupes.  Jean-Luc had last been in that room a few years ago with Beverly, ironically, to see a modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew.  Jack hadn’t been interested in going and neither had Walker, and he remembered Beverly and him joking that they were going on a date.  _Oh, how fate works in interesting ways_ , Jean-Luc thought as he walked towards his old friend. 

Walker busied himself at the comm panel.  “Right, Do you want to talk to your parents, first?” 

“I probably should.”  Walker nodded and when his mother and father appeared on the screen, Jean-Luc smiled.

“ _Maman, Papa.”_    Yvette smiled warmly and Jean-Luc even detected a slight smile on his father’s face.

 _“Jean-Luc,  Je sais que ce n'est pas conventionnel, mais félicitations pour votre mariage et pour le bébé. J'espère que vous venez nous voir. Ta mère me dit que Beverly est une femme charmante.”_ Jean-Luc nodded at his father.  His congratulatory message was more than he had hoped for.

_“Merci pere. Après que Wesley arrive, nous viendrons vous rendre visite. Parlez-vous Standard pour Beverly? Notre mariage sera en standard.”_

_“Oui.”_

On the other side of the room, Walker was speaking with Felisa.  Felisa was still a little confused, but only wanted her granddaughter to be happy. She had seen the way Jean-Luc had looked at her when she had her wedding with Jack, so this seemed only appropriate. 

Patricia Quaice hurried into the room.  “Beverly is ready if you are, Jean-Luc.”  Jean-Luc grinned and nodded and music began to play.  Beverly was ushered in on the arm of her mentor, Dalen Quaice, in the absence of anyone else to play the role, though Walker would have gladly escorted her, too.  She was carrying a small bouquet of flowers Patricia had arranged for her and Jean-Luc couldn’t hide the grin on his face.  Walker nudged him. “You’re staring, Johnny.”

“I can’t help it Walker, she’s beautiful.” 

When Beverly reached Jean-Luc, both Dalen and Walker kissed her cheek and Jean-Luc took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You’re beautiful.”

She blushed. “You’re pretty handsome yourself.”  She passed her flowers to Patricia, and they exchanged short wedding vows.  When Quaice pronounced them married, Walker wolf-whistled when they kissed, and they could hear Jean-Luc’s parents and Beverly’s grandmother clapping.  Felisa and Yvette had tears in their eyes and even Maurice was seen to be wiping at his eyes. Felisa blew a kiss to Beverly and Jean-Luc and ended her call, but Jean-Luc’s parents held on for a few minutes.

 _“Belle. J'ai besoin de retourner dans les vignes, mon fils, ma nouvelle fille. Bienvenue dans la famille, Beverly.”_ Beverly smiled at Maurice.  “ _Merci.”_ Jean-Luc just stared at his father with his mouth agape, causing his mother to laugh.  “We will speak later, _non?”_

_“Oui, Maman.”_

Their call ended and Jean-Luc turned to Beverly.  “My father called you his new daughter.”  Beverly smiled. “Your mother told me he was excited to be a _grand-père_. Do I have that word right?”

“Robert and I called ours _Pépé_. Pépé and Mémé.” 

“I like that.”   Walker interrupted by leering at the couple. “And now! The wedding night!  Eh, Rumple?” 

Jean-Luc rolled his eyes at his friend and Beverly looked on amused. “Rumple?”

“Don’t ask, Bev. Just, don’t.”  Walker looked at Beverly confused. “But..Johnny said....”

Jean-Luc laughed.  “I never said _Beverly_ said it...”

“Ah, you got me.”  Walker chuckled. “But, now that the nickname is out there...”

“ _Merde.”_


	7. Chapter 7

Jean-Luc lifted his wife into his arms and carried her through the doorway to their quarters and put her down on the sofa.  He leaned in and kissed her.  “Hello, Mrs Picard.”

“That’s _Doctor_ Picard,”  she smirked even as her fingers were tugging open his dress uniform at the collar.   “Mm, I like that.  You’re going to change your name? You don’t _have_ to...”  Beverly nodded. “I want our family to all use the same name.”

“I could be Jean-Luc Howard,” he teased and Beverly rolled her eyes.  “I much prefer Picard.”  He kissed her again. “Good.”  His hand strayed down to her full belly. “What do you think, young Mister Picard?”   Wesley was oddly silent. 

“Beverly...is he alright?  Usually Wesley pushes back at my hand when I touch you.  Is he sleeping?”  She nodded. “He’s probably getting ready to settle down for his birth. I bet he drops soon. Honestly, we probably won’t see him move much now.” 

“Oh,”  Jean-Luc slightly frowned when he caressed her stomach. “I kind of liked being able to feel him”  Beverly smiled. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too.  Were you serious about wanting to make love? Will it be safe?”

“Well, it’s not like you’re going to get me pregnant,”  Beverly said sarcastically.  Jean-Luc chuckled. “I meant, will it hurt Wes?” Beverly shook her head. “You’re adorable.  No.  He won’t even know it’s going on.  The most is that sometimes sex can bring on labour, but he’s not in position yet, so I don’t think I would worry about that.”  Jean-Luc’s eyes went wide.  “You mean, he could be born tonight?” 

“Could, but honestly, I think we have a few weeks.”  He nodded.  “Well then, Mrs Picard...excuse me, Doctor Picard,”  Jean-Luc scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom amidst her laughter. 

After Jean-Luc had peeled off her purple dress and removed his uniform, they stood staring at each other.  “Why am I nervous?  I’ve had sex before.”  Beverly laughed. “But not with me.” He reached out and ran a finger down her face. “True. Not that I wouldn’t have said no....but let’s not think about our past regrets. Not tonight.”  He eyed her belly. “Uhm....”

“You’re going to have to take me from behind.”  Jean-Luc frowned. “Not that I’m opposed to that idea, but I was hoping to get to see your face.” 

“We can try, but I bet my belly gets in the way.” 

“Well, it will be fun trying.” 

The pair collapsed in giggles. They had tried the tried-and-true missionary position, but Beverly’s belly was in the way.  Having Beverly on top didn’t work either.  Then they tried lying on their sides facing each other, but once again their child seemed to be in the way. “I don’t think Wesley wants his parents to have sex.” 

Beverly rolled her eyes at her new husband. “Good luck with that, Wes.  Mommy’s getting laid tonight.”  Beverly tugged Jean-Luc towards her. “Maybe if my legs go....like this?” 

“Hmm.  Could work...”

After several more failed tries, Beverly let out a cry of frustration and got on her hands and knees and scooted to the bottom of the bed.  She wiggled her backside.  “Jean-Luc, please. I _need_ you.”

###

Jean-Luc crawled back onto the bed to spoon his wife.  He kissed her neck and she smiled. “I like that.”

“Mm, good.”  He kissed her neck again.  “How do you feel?”

“Wonderful. Why didn’t we do that sooner?”  Jean-Luc chuckled. “I don’t know.”

“Mmm, when we have our next baby, promise we’ll have sex the whole way through my pregnancy?”

“Of course, my love.  I don’t think I could keep my hands off you if I tried...”  Beverly rolled over to face him. “You might have to for a few weeks after I give birth.”  Jean-Luc pretended to pout, but he leaned forward and kissed her. 

“Then I suppose we’ll just have to get our fill now...”  Beverly giggled. “I’m game!”

###

“I’m sorry we can’t have a honeymoon,”  Beverly said over cups of tea they were drinking in bed later that evening.  Her pizza box lay on the bed between them, and they were munching on the cold pizza as their wedding supper. Jean-Luc had to admit, the sausage/pineapple combination wasn’t _entirely_ revolting.  He wrapped an arm across her shoulders.  “We have a few weeks before Wesley’s birth. We could book some time in one of the holosuites if you’d like and then go away with Wes after he’s born...Maman wants us to visit....” Beverly nodded. “I know. I can’t wait to see where you grew up.”  He groaned. “Papa will be there, too.”  Beverly swatted him.  “Honestly, your father seems nice.”

“Hmm. We’ll see.”

Beverly munched on her pizza. “Think the field around the gelato held?” 

“Only one way to find out.  Either we have a very sticky table, or we have gelato.  I’ll go look.”  Jean-Luc rose from the bed and Beverly’s eyes glazed over.  “Mm, what a _Délicieux derrière.”_ Jean-Luc wiggled his hips at his wife as he made his way out of their bedroom and returned with the gelato carton and two spoons.  “We’re in luck.” He passed her the frozen treat and the spoons.

Beverly grinned. “Remember this meal, Jean-Luc.”  She peeled the top off the container and dipped her spoon in, smiling as a spoonful reached her lips.

“Why?”

“Because I think this just became our anniversary tradition.” 

“Cold sausage and pineapple pizza and gelato?  Well, I suppose there are _worse_ things.”  Beverly wrinkled her nose. “Maybe not cold next year.  And....maybe without the sausage.  I’m not sure if my non-pregnancy stomach could handle it.” 

“It’s not bad.  The spice of the sausage and the tart of the pineapple make for an interesting juxtaposition.”  Beverly rolled her eyes.  “You’re describing pizza as if it were a fine wine.” 

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s cute.  Speaking of wine, we really _should_ celebrate our marriage.”  Jean-Luc gave her a dubious look.  She rolled her eyes. “One small glass is fine.  Wesley is not going to get foetal alcohol syndrome if I drink one small glass to celebrate our nuptials,” she softly smiled and rubbed her belly.  “But thank you for being concerned.”  Jean-Luc nodded and left the bedroom.  Beverly continued to enjoy the gelato while she listened to Jean-Luc uncorking a bottle and pouring out two glasses. “Hurry back!  I might eat all this gelato!” 

###

“Do you think you could book us a holosuite that just has a bigger bath?”  Beverly frowned as she tried to get comfortable in front of Jean-Luc in their bath.  Jean-Luc had his knees bent to fit in the small tub, and Beverly barely had any room for her legs, let alone her belly.  Jean-Luc dropped a kiss on her neck. “Is that what you want to do?”

“Mm,  Unless you can get engineering to enlarge the bathroom....” 

“Might have to move quarters for that.  I mean, I can _ask_ Greg.”  Beverly laughed. “If you ask Greg, he’ll somehow make it happen.” 

“Probably.  He’s already told me he plans on spoiling Wesley,”  Beverly smiled and leaned her back against his chest. “Wesley will have a lot of honorary grandparents at this rate.” 

“And Uncle Walker.” 

“Oh, god. Beverly....I shudder to think what Walker will teach our son.” Beverly laughed and shifted. “Ok, this bath _really_ isn’t working. Help me out?” 

Jean-Luc chuckled and got out of the bath and helped out his new wife. He resolved to book a holosuite with a spa program loaded for them later. 

###

“Ah, Beverly. I didn’t expect to see you until Wesley’s birth.  I assumed you two would be holed up in your quarters.” Beverly blushed at her mentor and Jean-Luc’s face went pink. 

“I just thought it would be a good idea to check on Wesley....Jean-Luc is concerned because he can’t feel him move anymore.”  Jean-Luc pressed a kiss to Beverly’s temple. “I told you, I accepted your explanation.” 

“I know, but I also know you’d still worry, so I thought we’d come in for a scan.”  Dalen Quaice nodded and smiled at their interaction.  He only wished Beverly had had Jean-Luc in her life as more than her friend in the earlier months of her pregnancy. 

“Well, hop up on the biobed and lift your top. Let’s take a look at Wesley.”

Jean-Luc twined his fingers with Beverly’s as he looked at the monitor above the bed.  “That’s...Beverly...this is amazing. That’s Wesley?”  Beverly nodded and looked over at Jean-Luc who had tears in his eyes. “Oh, Beverly....he’s absolutely perfect.  I’m sorry I wasn’t here for any of your previous scans...”

“Me, too,”  Beverly whispered before she reached up with her free hand to wipe a tear off his cheek.  “But you’re here now.” 

“I am.”  He dropped a kiss on top of her head.  Doctor Quaice grinned at the couple.  “I’m sure Beverly can tell you everything you need to know, so I’ll leave you two here to look at Wesley.  Beverly, you’re still doing great and I think we might see the young man in about a week? Sound good to you?” 

“Absolutely. Thank you, Dalen.”  Doctor Quaice nodded and handed the wand to Jean-Luc. “Just glide it over her stomach. It doesn’t need much pressure.”  He turned and left the room and Jean-Luc’s eyes went back to the monitor. 

“So see? He’s sleeping.  See how his head is down?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “That’s because he’s getting into position.  This is good, because we like them coming out head first.”

“What if he was feet first?”

“It’s called  a breach birth. It’s not dangerous, but it’s better to have the head come out first.  We don’t like to use the transporter unless there are complications.”  Jean-Luc’s eye went wide. “You can tansport a baby out of his mother?”  Beverly nodded.

“It’s why pregnant women don’t use the transporter after about six or seven months.  It’s risky unless you have a _very_ skilled transporter chief.  If the mother was in any danger or the baby was at risk, we could use the transporter.  It’s cleaner than the old caesarean births, but tricky.” 

“Wow.  I didn’t know any of this.  But everything will be ok for you?” 

“Yes,”  Beverly smiled. “Stop worrying.”

“Sorry. Can we....stay and look at him a little longer?”  Beverly’s fingers sought out his once more and she squeezed them lightly. “I’d like that.”

###

The Picard's walked out of the theatre a few nights later,  hand in hand.  “Did you enjoy what you managed to see?” 

“Oh yes,”  Beverly smiled. “The play was lovely.  It’s a shame I kept needing the toilet. Did I miss anything important?”

“I think you still got the jist of it.  It’s not like we haven’t seen it before.”  Beverly nodded. “True, but this was our first time seeing it _together_  and not just as two friends going to see it if you know what I mean.” 

“I do.  So, what next?  Home or?”  Jean-Luc looked over at his wife expectantly.

"We're hungry." Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows "I know, I know, he's sleeping, but trust me, we're hungry."

 "What are you and Wesley hungry for?"

 "Mm, do you remember that stand on campus that sold those massive soft pretzels?” Jean-Luc slowly nodded.  “I want one of those.  With cheese.  And jalapenos.” 

“Is this something we can replicate?”  Beverly shook her head. “No...but I bet that German place on deck seven has them.” 

Jean-Luc held out his arm to her. “Then, we shall go to deck seven.”

Once they were on deck seven, they stopped at a few of the vendors set up around the corridor on their way to the German restaurant.  Jean-Luc followed his wife, receiving many amused glances from other men as she picked up and gushed over several tiny outfits.  Jean-Luc chuckled as she started a conversation with another expectant mother who had her older child with her as well. The ladies began discussing outfits for bringing their babies home and Jean-Luc watched as Beverly returned to the same little pajama "suit". He caught the eye of the woman working the stand, and she nodded knowingly. 

Beverly eyed the menu outside the New German restaurant.  “Hmm. No jalapenos.”  She frowned. 

“I’m sorry.  Anything _else_ strike your fancy?”  Beverly shook her head. “No.  Let’s go home.” 

###

“Jean-Luc, our quarters aren’t this way.”  Jean-Luc gently tugged on her hand.  “I know.  I have a surprise for you.” 

“Another one?”  She grinned.  Jean-Luc had taken her out to dinner that evening  as a surprise and she had enjoyed their date. She rubbed her back gently and Jean-Luc noticed. “Are you ok?”

“Just a little back ache.  Nothing to worry about.  I think Wesley likes it right where he is,” she frowned.  Her estimated due date had come and gone and she was now looking at being five days past her due date.  The worst thing was, it was getting difficult to walk because of how low she felt he was and she was sure she was waddling.  Jean-Luc was, naturally, too polite to mention it.

“Here we are!”  Beverly and Jean-Luc were standing in a corridor on a different section of the habitat ring. 

“We’re visiting someone?  Jean-Luc...I don’t know if I really feel up to it...” He pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead.  “Read the door plaque.” 

Beverly looked at the sign next to the door and gasped. 

_Picard, Jean-Luc, Cpt_

_Picard, Beverly, MD, Lt._

“But...”

“Well, it turns out we were living in quarters designed for a single person, not a couple or family.” 

“And the fact that you’re a Captain and Greg’s favourite had nothing to do with this?”  Jean-Luc flushed. “Er...”  She leaned over and kissed him.  “I’ll thank him later.” 

Jean-Luc entered his access code. “Your code hasn’t changed.” 

“Mm, good.  I hate trying to remember codes. What about our stuff?”  Jean-Luc grinned. “Transported it over.”  Beverly raised her eyebrows and walked into their new quarters . Sure enough, everything was there just as it was in their former quarters, down to the blanket draped on the back of the sofa.

“When did you have time to arrange this?”  Jean-Luc rubbed the back of his neck. “Err...when you were napping? And then the Quaices and a few of the nurses helped to make sure everything was moved and set up properly while we were out to dinner.”  Beverly ran her hand over the blanket on the sofa and smiled before grabbing Jean-Luc and kissing him deeply.  “I love it.”

“You haven’t even seen the bathrooms yet!” 

“Bathrooms?” 

“We have two now.  One out here and one off our bedroom.” 

“Give me a tour.” He reached for her hand. “Wesley’s room is over here....It’s bigger than what his room was in our old quarters so there’s plenty of room.  Dalen and Patricia found a chair for you....Patty said she heard someone talking about how nice it was to have a soft rocking chair for nursing and putting her baby to bed, so she went and found one for us.”  Beverly sat down in the chair and closed her eyes. “Oh, this _is_ comfortable.” 

“That’s good, because I had them put one in our bedroom, too since I know you want Wesley to be in our room at first.” 

“You don’t mind?  I just think it would be easier for night feedings if he was close.” Jean-Luc shook his head. “Of course I don’t mind.  But...he’ll be moved back eventually, right?  Because I don’t want to abstain from sex with his mother....”  Beverly grinned. “He’s a baby, he won’t even know what’s going on.  But yes.  Once we get him into a routine, we can move him into his bedroom.  And I want to put him down for naps in his room so he gets used to it.”

“You’re the boss.  Just...don’t tell Walker?”  Beverly laughed.  “Help me up? This chair is entirely _too_ inviting.”  Jean-Luc held out her hands and after she stood, he pulled her into his arms for a kiss.  “Would you like to see our bedroom?”

“Mm-hmm.  I thought you’d never offer!”

The bedroom was roughly the same size, just slightly larger to accommodate the double wardrobe and dresser instead of them cramming their belongings into the singles.  Beverly’s jaw dropped when she walked into the bathroom.  “Oh my. Did you know about this?”

“I asked Greg if it was possible for us to have a larger bathtub. All he said was that a Captain with a family needed to have larger quarters instead of the single quarters we were in and to leave it with him.  I only saw the layout, but it didn’t show much other than it was a larger bathroom. Why?” 

“Come look.”

The bathroom was tiled with turquoise tiles that seemed to glow from underneath. The bath was a large oval in the corner and even had jets you could turn on.  The opposite corner contained a large walk-in shower and there was a long counter with two sinks.  There was another door opposite the sinks that lead to the toilet, so you could use the toilet if someone was in the shower or bath. 

“It’s beautiful.  I can’t believe this is standard.  Did you have a bathroom like this when you were visiting and asked for quarters?”  Jean-Luc shook his head. “No.  I mean, they always gave me large quarters, but nothing this grand.  This is amazing.” 

“Thank you for doing this.  I love it and I love you.”  She grinned at her husband. “So what do you say we try out this bath of ours?”

###

Beverly sat up in bed and held her stomach.  “Ouch!” 

“More practice contractions?” 

“Mm, probably.  Go back to sleep.  I’m sure it will pass.”  Jean-Luc nodded and kissed her before she laid back down and he wrapped an arm around her once more.  His eyes slid shut and Beverly snorted. _Must be nice._ She yawned and rubbed her stomach.  “Momma’s got to sleep, Wes.”  She snuggled closer to Jean-Luc and let her eyes slowly drift close.   She woke up again when she felt another twinge. “Oh,”  She bit her lip so she wouldn’t wake up Jean-Luc.  If she was more than  a half hour apart, there was nothing to worry about and maybe she could even sleep a bit before things got really rough.  She closed her eyes and attempted one more to get some sleep. 

Beverly woke when the pain became a bit more intense.  She prodded Jean-Luc, who sleepily opened his eyes. “I think labour is starting!”  Jean-Luc’s eyes went wide and he swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Where are you going?”

“To get dressed! Don’t we need to get you to sickbay?”  Beverly laughed. “Not yet.  I’m a doctor, remember?  We’ll wait until they are about five minutes apart.  I want to go take a shower.  Come with me?” 

“You want to be naked in the shower with me while you’re having contractions?” 

“No....I want you to have sex with me in the shower.” Jean-Luc could only stare back at his wife. “Wh...what?  But you’re....baby?” 

Beverly laughed and pecked his lips. “Sperm will actually help my cervix.  I’m sure that’s what triggered this...might as well keep going.  It’ll speed up labour, too.” 

“Well, I’ll see what I can do.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the ending. Mostly because we both have a laundry list of WIPs that demand attention! But we've left it open in case we decide to come back to it in the future with a sequel or a one-shot. Thanks for reading! -AOTM and GHAN

Yvette and Maurice were standing in their garden when they heard the noise of an approaching shuttle.  Maurice turned to his wife and grumbled. “I hope that thing doesn’t ruin the grass.” Yvette only rolled her eyes and watched as the small shuttle made a graceful landing and the hatch on the side opened. Jean-Luc emerged first and held out his hand to help his wife out of the shuttle, then returned inside.

"She's pretty. I'll give her that." Yvette chuckled at her husband.

"Let's go greet them." The older couple approached as Jean-Luc was carefully  carrying the baby carrier out of the shuttle and passing it to Beverly, who already had a bag slung over her shoulder. "Welcome, my dears." Yvette held out her arms and embraced Beverly. "I can't believe you're travelling so soon after giving birth. How are you feeling? Was the trip hard?"

 "It's definitely different travelling in a shuttle for three days with a baby." Beverly smiled. "Jean-Luc has been wonderful though.  He’s a fantastic father.”

 "Come inside." Yvette took Wesley's diaper bag before nodding to her husband to help with the luggage. "You look tired."

 "I'm sorry." Beverly blushed. "I am a bit. I never realized how much a baby can cry when we’re trying to sleep...especially on the small shuttle where everything just echoes."

"He's only three months old!" Yvette laughed merrily. "It's his job." The women walked toward the house and Maurice patted his son's shoulder.

"Your mother will take good care of her."

_"Merci Pere. J'apprécie que vous soyez poli avec elle. si vous avez quelque chose à dire, dites-le-moi, pas à elle."_

_"Non, Jean-Luc. Je ne parlerai pas contre votre fils ou sa mère. Je suis désolé si vous avez déjà pensé ..."_ Maurice trailed off and the men were quiet for a moment. They had spoken so seldom that words didn't come easily between them.

“Ah... _Merci, Papa.”_

 “I'm told I need to speak Standard around your wife."

 "Yes, Beverly doesn't speak much French, but she’s picking a little bit up. She wants me to teach Wesley French as he grows up." Maurice grinned at his younger son. _“Un jeune français a besoin de connaître sa langue. ”_ Jean-Luc couldn’t hide his grin.  His father was accepting Wesley as his own. 

_"Ta femme est très jolie. Et ton fils est beau."_

_"Merci, papa._ _Je n'arrête pas de le lui dire, mais elle ne veut rien entendre. Elle ne pense pas qu'elle est jolie après avoir accouché."_ Maurice shared a knowing smile with Jean-Luc.  _"Ah, ta mère était la même. Viens, peut-être qu'elle le prendra à un vieil homme."_

 They entered the house and Jean-Luc smiled at the sight of his tiny family settled into his mother’s familiar and favorite rocker. Wesley was already back to sleep nestled in Beverly’s arms, and Yvette smacked Jean-Luc’s arm lightly when she spotted him. "You should have waited another month or so. She is exhausted."  Jean-Luc hung his head. 

" I know. We didn't realize traveling would be so hard.  Beverly wanted you to meet Wesley.  We have plans to visit her grandmother on Caldos after our visit here, but perhaps we’ll stay here longer?" Yvette noded at her son.  Jean-Luc put the bags he was carrying down at the foot of the stairs.

“I’ll get your brother to carry those up for you later.  You and Beverly are in your old room and I had your father bring your old crib down for Wesley.”

“Thank you, Maman.”  Jean-Luc stepped forward and picked his son up when the little one began to squirm in his mother’s arms. He pressed a kiss to Beverly’s forehead, noticing that she herself had her eyes closed.   He put the baby to his chest and rocked a bit before turning around. Yvette nodded approvingly as she got her second look at her grandson's face. "Let's go to the kitchen." Yvette whispered in Standard, just in case Beverly was awake.

Once in the other room, Wesley began to fuss at the brighter lights. Maurice looked over to his wife, who was already at the stove working towards a pot of tea and a small snack for the travellers.

 "May I?" Maurice motioned towards Wesley. Jean-Luc's eyes widened, but a quick glance towards his mother and her knowing smile had him passing his son to his father. Maurice sat at his usual seat at the head of the table and began singing a quiet lullaby. Jean-Luc looked at his mother, who smiled.

"He may be a gruff man, but he is happy to have a grandchild."

Wesley fell asleep in the arms of his grandfather, listening to the soothing French words.  Jean-Luc watched Maurice press a kiss to the baby’s forehead. “ _Je t'aime mon petit fils.”_

“Maman, you said his crib is in my old room?” 

“ _Oui.”_ Maurice shook his head as he rose with the baby.  “Let me, Jean-Luc.  You look after his mother for now.” 

“Thank you, Papa.”  When Maurice had disappeared up the steps, Jean-Luc rounded on his mother. “Ok, what did you do to him?”  Yvette smiled. “Nothing, dear.  I just pointed out to your father that Wesley might be our only grandbaby...and I can’t tell you how happy I am that you and Beverly decided to get married.”  Jean-Luc grinned at his mother.  “Well, good news there, Maman.  Beverly is already planning on a second baby when Wesley is two or three.”

Yvette clapped her hands.  “ _merveilleux!_ Now, you must tell me all about the proposal.”  Jean-Luc flushed and rubbed the back of his head. “Ah...Maman....”

“Oh, I see.  Well, never mind.  I am still overjoyed. Now, I have a pot of tea for you and Beverly and a few sandwiches.  You both must be hungry.”  Jean-Luc shook his head. “Maman, we have a replicator on the shuttle.”

“Hmm.  Food made from dust.”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes.  “But thank you, Maman. Do you want me to carry the tray in?”

“ _Non._ Go check on Beverly.  If she is sleeping, I don’t want to disturb her.” 

Jean-Luc nodded. When he entered the other room, he smiled. Beverly’s eyes were closed, but she must have heard him because she spoke softly.  “I’m awake.  Where’s Wes?”

“Would you believe, my father is putting him in his crib for a nap?”  Beverly adjusted herself in her seat to look at Jean-Luc. “No!” 

“Yep. Turns out Papa is a big softie when it comes to babies.  Who knew?” 

“I did,” Yvette said as she carried in the tray of tea and sandwiches. “Your father absolutely doted on you when you and Robert were babies.”

“Ah, before I became a disappointment,”  Jean-Luc deadpanned.  Yvette smacked his arm. “None of that. You and your father have....”  she trailed off, trying to remember the word in Standard.  _“réconcilié.”_ She finished firmly, shooting an apologetic look at Beverly.

“That word I can understand.  Jean-Luc, you and your father are reconciled?” 

“I’m not sure I would take it that far, but we’ve seemed to reach a sort of truce now,”  Jean-Luc held out the plate of sandwiches to Beverly. “Maman thought we might be hungry after only eating dust on the shuttle.”

“Dust?” Jean-Luc rolled his eyes before explaining.

“Replicated food.”  Beverly’s eyes twinkled. “Ah. Thank you, Yvette.”

“Oh, Beverly. You must call me Maman if you feel comfortable.  Or Mémé when Wesley is a little older.”  Beverly flushed.  “Thank you, Maman.  I will try.” 

“Maman, where is Robert?” 

“In the office building.  You should go see him....but take Wesley with you.”  Jean-Luc grinned. “Less likely to fight if I’m holding a baby, eh?”  Yvette patted his arm. “ _absolument!”_ Maurice appeared in the doorway holding a small monitor.  “I found the old baby monitor for you to use,”  he passed the device to Beverly.  “I refreshed the charge, so it should work.”

“Thank you,”  Beverly  looked at the small device.  It wasn’t anything she had seen before, but then again, their quarters on the station were much smaller than an entire house so there was no need for monitoring.  Yvette smiled. “Ah, yes. And if I remember, it has quite the range.  I used to be able to still assist with the vineyard and be able to listen for the babies cry. Came in handy when the boys were a bit older, too.”

“We never knew how you knew we were getting into trouble.  You just seemed to appear.”  Yvette smugly smiled. “And that is exactly how children should think of their parents.” 

Maurice eyed the red-headed woman who captured his son’s heart. “I don’t think we’ve properly met yet.  I’m Maurice.” 

“ _Non,_ he is Papa.”  Yvette shared a look with her husband and he sheepishly grinned. “Yes, I suppose I am.”  He bent down and kissed Beverly’s cheek. “It’s lovely to meet you.” 

“Thank you, Maur- Papa.” 

###

Beverly was breastfeeding Wesley in the old rocking chair Yvette had placed in their bedroom later that evening.  “Your parents are lovely.  Your father...he’s a lot different from how you described him.”  Jean-Luc grinned. “He is.  I think he and Maman had a conversation.  I’m sorry Robert was so gruff.” 

“Can’t be helped.  You said he’s recently divorced?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “Twice, now.  No children from either marriage.” 

“Perhaps that’s why he is a little gruff. After all, you not only have a wife, but you also have a son.”  Jean-Luc pressed a kiss to Beverly’s forehead and gazed down at the nursing baby. “Could be.”  Wesley had his eyes closed and his sucking motion stopped. “Think he’s fallen asleep.  Could you?”  Jean-Luc nodded and took the sleeping infant so Beverly could adjust her clothing.  She held out her hands for him.  “I’ll just rock him for a little, just to make sure he’s really fallen asleep.”  Beverly let out a yawn and Jean-Luc shook his head. “You should be sleeping.”

“I was hoping for a little more than sleep tonight....it’s been twelve weeks.  I miss you.” 

“It will be...safe?”   Beverly nodded. “Everything is healed up.  And, before you ask, I had an implant fitted. Of course, the previous one did happen to fail, but....” 

“We’ll risk it.” 

“You’re not the one who would have to be pregnant back-to-back, but yeah, I think we’ll risk it.” 

###

Jean-Luc caught up to his brother outside walking towards the vines.  “Robert, wait for me.” 

Robert turned and glared. “Doesn’t your _wife_ need you? Or that perfect son of yours?” 

“Robe....I’m sorry. I heard about  Denise.  Do you want to....talk?” 

“Talk? We don’t talk.”  Jean-Luc shook his head. “We used to.  Do you remember?” 

“That was...years ago.”  Robert resumed his pace and Jean-Luc struggled to catch up.  “Look, I didn’t plan any of this...Beverly...Wesley...it all just sort of happened.  And I’m sorry that it happened just as you were finalising your divorce, but I didn’t do any of this to spite you.  You have to know that!”

“ _Maman était ravie quand tu lui as annoncé qu'elle serait une grand-mère. Je suppose que je devrais vous remercier car cela lui a fait oublier le fait que je ne serai pas ..... Je ne pense pas que j'aurai une troisième chance à l'amour.”_

“Robert...don’t say that. “

“Papa’s just relieved neither of my ex-wives wanted to sue for part ownership of the vineyard.”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes. “Sounds like him.  But, Robert....you shouldn’t give up.  Heck, look at me.  I’ve been in love with Beverly for over six years and I watched her marry another and now she and I are together.  Patience, my brother.”  Robert snorted.

“The younger brother giving the older brother advice.  That’s a change.”  Jean-Luc grinned.  “Come back to the house.  Properly meet your nephew.” 

###

Beverly came back into the house, with Wesley strapped to her chest and Jean-Luc gave her a kiss before removing their son from his sling.  “Good time?”

Beverly grinned. “It was really nice being able to interact with other new mothers.  We could talk about anything that was on our minds from feeding schedules, to sex.”

“Sex?”  Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows. 

“Well, you know. Not all women have understanding partners.  For example, remember two nights ago when you wound up with a mouthful of breastmilk?”  Jean-Luc chuckled.  It had been surprising, but hadn’t slowed the couple down.  “One woman said that her husband was completely turned off by her breasts now that they were being used to feed their baby.”  Jean-Luc frowned and made a point of ducking his head to kiss her cleavage. Beverly smiled.  “So, stuff like that.”

“And Wesley?  Everything checks out?”  She nodded. “I mean, you know I can just take his measurements myself with my tricorder, but it was nice to pretend to not be a doctor for a few hours.  I was just ‘Madame Picard’.” 

“You are _never_ just Madame Picard,”  He pressed another kiss to her lips.  “And you, young man.  Feels like it’s time for a change.  Come on, let’s get your pants changed.”  Beverly smiled. 

“I invited one of the mother’s over for tea this afternoon, I hope that’s alright.”  Beverly was following Jean-Luc up the steps, figuring she might try to catch a quick nap before Lunch. 

“Of course it is, but isn’t Wesley a little young for a play date?” 

“She....Jean-Luc, she’s me.  Rather, she’s who I would have been without you.  She’s a single mother. Her husband...he didn’t want children and left her.  She’s struggling.  I just thought she might like some adult time.” 

“I think  I can look after two babies for a few hours. I’ll rope Robert into helping.”  Beverly snorted.  “Almost wish I could see that.” 

“So what’s this new friend’s name?”

“Marie.”

###

Marie arrived with her two-month-old son, Rene.  Marie was a slight woman, slightly shorter than Beverly, with light auburn hair.  She appeared to be a bit frazzled when Beverly introduced her to Jean-Luc. 

Jean-Luc leaned forward to kiss her cheek “Hello, Marie.  If you and Beverly would like some time without babies,  I’m happy to look after young Rene here.  My brother should be back soon and we can take the babies on a walk through the vineyard if you’d like.”  Marie smiled.  “Thank you.  I haven’t....well, with the exception of five minutes here and there to shower I haven’t had any time to myself...if Rene was sleeping, I was sleeping, and....”  tears filled Marie’s eyes and Jean-Luc gave her a gentle pat on the back. 

“Why don’t I show you upstairs and you can put Rene in the crib with Wesley?”

“Thank you.  I’ll need to feed him after he wakes...”  Jean-Luc smiled. “Beverly has a monitor for the bedroom.  If either baby makes noise, you will hear it.” 

Rene was soon placed in the crib next to Wesley and Jean-Luc looked at the two boys.  They both were slumbering quietly, and Jean-Luc followed Marie downstairs to help his mother prepare the tea.  He and Robert would have their afternoon tea in the kitchen with Maurice and Yvette, Beverly, and Beverly’s new friend Marie would enjoy their tea in the conservatory.  After Jean-Luc and Robert were finished, they planned on taking Wesley and his new friend on a walk. Maurice had chuckled at the notion of taking a two-month-old and a three-month-old on a walk until Yvette reminded him he had been doing the same with his sons when they were babies. 

Robert and Jean-Luc finished their tea and headed up to the bedroom to pick up the babies when Robert paused in the doorway.

“Erm....I’m sorry!  I thought you were downstairs....” he trailed off and tried again. “Hi, I’m Robert.” 

“Marie.”  Marie glanced down at Rene at her breast.  “This is my son, Rene.” 

“I’ll say hello to him later.”  Nearby, Beverly laughed.  “Robert...you’ve been around me while I was breastfeeding Wes.  It shouldn’t shock you.”

“Yes, but you’re family.  That’s different. And I don’t.... _look_.”  Beverly rolled her eyes and smirked when Robert averted his eyes as she removed Wesley from her breast and adjusted her clothing.  “They’re away now.”  Robert blushed.  “Sorry, Bev.”

“It’s fine. Do me a favour and change Wes? I want to talk to Jean-Luc for a minute.”  Robert nervously glanced over at Marie who was still feeding Rene.  “Uhm....sure.” 

“Thanks!”  Beverly passed Wesley to his uncle and kissed Robert’s cheek. “She won’t bite,” she whispered before joining her husband in the hallway.

Jean-Luc caught Beverly around her waist. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Nothing.  I just wanted to give Marie and Robert some time together.”   Jean-Luc eyed his wife.  “Are you trying to play matchmaker for my brother?”

“Maaaybe.”

###

“A naming ceremony?”  Beverly stared across the dinner table at her father-in-law. “I don’t know, Maurice...sorry, Papa,” she flushed. It had been easy to call Yvette Maman, but using Papa for Maurice was taking some getting used to. 

“It’s a Picard tradition.  The whole village is there and we invite the entire family from far and wide.”

“I...I hope this doesn’t offend you, but I’m not religious.  I mean, my nana practised a bit of the Celtic traditions, but...”  Maurice stretched his hand across the table and held Beverly’s in his.  “It’s not religions.  It’s....ceremonial.  Has Jean-Luc told you about our family history?”  Beverly shook her head and shot her husband a look.

“Papa, it’s all a bunch of silly nonsense.  No one actually calls us Comte anymore.” 

“ _Comte?”_  Beverly’s eyes widened.  Comte was practically royalty.  Jean-Luc waved his hand.

“It’s just a ceremonial title.  _Papa_ doesn’t  even use it.”  Maurice nodded at his son. “True, but....humour your old man?”

“It’s up to Beverly,”  Jean-Luc said, resting his hand on Beverly’s shoulder.  Beverly turned to look at her husband. “You’re Wesley’s father.  What do _you_ think?”

Jean-Luc rubbed the back of his neck.  “I think it’s a silly ceremony and a silly title, but it goes back centuries in the family and there’s a book in the chapel which registers all births, deaths, and marriages for the Picard family that goes to the eighteenth century.”

“Well, who am I to argue with tradition?  I suppose our marriage needs to be written in this book, too?”  Maurice nodded.  “And Robert, we need to remove Denise.”

“I received the divorce decree today. She is officially no longer a Picard,”  Robert sighed.  He _had_ loved the woman and had hoped they would have worked out,  but she had become upset when Robert asked her about having children three years into their marriage.  She hadn’t wanted to become a mother, but Robert wanted children....wanted a son to carry on the Picard name.  He was almost grateful to his younger brother for taking _that_ pressure off.  Beverly reached out and patted Robert’s arm.  “I’m sorry, Robert.” 

“No, Beverly...it’s for the best.  Besides,  I asked your friend Marie if she’d like to meet me for a coffee tomorrow morning after your baby group. With Rene, of course.”   Beverly’s eyes twinkled. “Of course.”

###

Beverly rolled over in bed that night and eyed her husband. “Comte.  I looked it up.  Why didn’t you tell me your were the Comte du La Barre?”  Jean-Luc shrugged. “It’s never been important to me.  But, I should tell you, this makes you a Comtesse.”  Beverly grinned. “Wow.” She threaded their fingers together.  “I suppose if we’re holding this ceremony, we should name godparents?” 

“Its traditional, but...you know it now has nothing to do with religion.” 

“I’d like Walker and Robert.” 

“No godmother?”  Beverly shook her head. “No.  I mean, I’m not close to many women....are you?” 

“Only my old friend Marta, but we’ve lost touch.  Supposed we dodged a bullet with Robert divorcing Denise.”  Jean-Luc shuddered.  His brother had loved the woman, but Jean-Luc had not gotten along with her. 

“Maybe he’ll marry Marie. Then Wesley would have a cousin his age to play with.”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes. “ _Beverly...._ ”

“I know, I know.  But it’s good he’s taking her out for a coffee.”  Beverly took a deep breath. “Alright, we can have the ceremony, but can it be smaller?  Maybe not invite the whole village and far flung relatives?  I mean, I did the big wedding thing with Jack and....”

“You were uncomfortable with all that attention on you.”  She nodded.  “I don’t like the attention either.  I’ll talk to Papa.  But we’ll need Walker here if you really want him to be one of Wesley’s godfather.”

“I do, don’t you?”  Jean-Luc nodded and leaned over to kiss Beverly. “Goodnight, my love. Better get some sleep before Wes wakes up.”

###

Wesley fussed in his father’s arms.  “I know.  The costume is itchy.  But I wore this gown, your Oncle wore the gown, Papa wore it...his father....”  he dropped a kiss on Wesley’s forehead. “I promise.  Fifteen minutes and I’ll let you crawl around naked.” 

“In the church?!”  Beverly shot an incredulous look at her husband. “Why not? Robert and I used to play in here as children.” 

The Grand Mayor of La Barre glanced over at the couple and smiled.  “Usually, we have a large group here for these events, but I understand you didn’t want that?”  Beverly shook her head.  “It’s just us,  Jean-Luc’s parents and brother, our best friend Walker, and my friend Marie with her son Rene.” 

The Grand Mayor glanced over at Maurice, who nodded.  “It’s fine, old friend.  The important thing is Wesley having his name on the official Picard register.”  The Mayor nodded.  “Can I?”  Jean-Luc passed Wesley to the Mayor.  Wesley immediately became fascinated with the ceremonial sash the man was wearing and he chuckled.  “I do love babies,”  He cleared his throat.

“We are gathered here today for the official naming ceremony of Wesley,”  he glanced at Beverly and Jean-Luc. “Does he have a middle name?”  Jean-Luc glanced at his brother. “Robert,”

“What?”

“No, his middle name is Robert.”  Robert flushed. “Thanks.”

“Right. We are gathered here today for the official naming ceremony of Wesley Robert Picard in the presence of his family. Are his god parents here?” 

“Right here.  Walker Keel.”  Walker stepped forward.  Jean-Luc prodded his brother. “And you, Robert.” 

“Uhm, right.” 

“No godmother?”  The Grand Mayor glanced over at Marie, causing her to blush. “Oh no, not me.  I’m just a new friend.  Hoping Wesley and Rene will become good chums.” 

“New friends can be god parents.  Beverly?  Jean-Luc?”  Beverly grinned at her friend.  “I think it’s a good idea.” 

“Only if you and Jean-Luc promise to be godparents for Rene.  My parents don’t do anything like this, but....” 

“We would be honoured,” Jean-Luc said, taking Rene from his mother’s arms so Marie could join Robert and Walker.  The Mayor cleared his throat and began again.

“We are gathered here today for the official naming ceremony of Wesley Robert Picard in the presence of his family and his godparents, Walker Keel, Robert Picard, and Marie Lebel.”  The Grand Mayor nodded at Maurice.  “If Maurice would please scribe his grandson’s name to the official Picard family book.”Maurice walked up to the lectern where the old family  book was and carefully wrote next to Jean-Luc’s name “ _m. Beverly Howard”_ and under their name wrote “ _Wesley Robert Picard.”_

The Grand Mayor held Wesley in his outstretched arms. “Welcome to the Picard family, Wesley Robert.”

Wesley chose that point to begin to cry.

###FIN###

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More French...these are just to get the jist of the convo:
> 
> Jean-Luc tells his father if he has anything negative to say to tell him, Maurice says no, he accepts Wesley as his grandson, then says a young french boy should learn his language. Maurice says Beverly is beautiful and Jean-Luc agrees but says Beverly doesn't believe him. Maurice tells him his mother was the same.
> 
> Robert says their mother is excited to be a grandmother, then says he doesn't think he'd be lucky in love for a third time.
> 
> Think that's all of the French.


	9. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We had to tie up one tiny loose end.....

Beverly smiled at her friend Marie as they both settled into positions on the floor for the Mommy and Baby group they had met at.  It had been a few weeks, but Marie was becoming a fixture over at the vineyard.  Beverly and Marie used the excuse that they were socialising the babies to get to spend time together over cups of tea and Beverly and Jean-Luc had kept a watchful eye on the blossoming relationship between Marie and Robert.  Wesley began to fuss and Beverly shrugged and placed him against her breast.  He often fed during these groups – many of the babies did.

All of the babies in the group were around the same age and the idea of the group was to establish lasting friendships as the children grew up.  Of course, Beverly knew Wesley wouldn’t be around as often as she would have liked with their life on the _Stargazer_ , but at least he would hopefully form some friendships with the other children.  Wesley finished nursing and Beverly carefully burped him before placing him on a blanket on the floor with the other children. She accepted the glass of juice and cookie handed to her by one of the helpers and settled in for a chat with the other ladies.

“Marie, why don’t you tell us about that lovely man we saw you in the village with?”  Marie blushed and shot Beverly a look.  Beverly gave her an encouraging smile. 

“His name is Robert. He’s Beverly’s brother-in-law....I met him when Beverly invited me over for tea.” 

“Must be nice having a man around again,” another woman said.  “After all that nastiness with your husband.”  Marie nodded and dabbed at the tears that formed. “It’s...”  Beverly shifted to move closer to her friend and put an arm around her. “I had the same reaction with Jean-Luc. My husband hadn’t paid attention to me in months, and there Jean-Luc was, rubbing my sore feet and making me feel like gold-pressed latinum.”  Marie looked at her friend with wide eyes.

“But, Jean-Luc is your husband?”

“We were married about a month before Wesley was born.  I divorced my husband when I was seven months pregnant...”  Beverly dropped her voice to a whisper. “I’ll tell you everything later.”  Louder, she said , “In fact, Jean-Luc isn’t Wesley’s biological father.  Not like you’d be able to tell.” 

All of the ladies shook their heads.  They had no idea that Wesley Picard wasn’t the biological son of Jean-Luc. 

“But he’s so good with Wesley and calls him his son.”  Beverly nodded. “Yep.  Jean-Luc loves Wesley and it doesn’t matter to him that Wesley wasn’t born of his blood.”  She patted Marie’s shoulder. “And I bet Robert will be the same. After all, they’re brothers.”  Marie smiled.

“I hope so.  I hope he’s not just pretending to like Rene....” 

“I’m sure he love Rene as much as he loves you.”  Beverly smiled. “Love?  You think Robert loves me?”  Beverly nodded. “I’m sure he does.”

“Yeah,” Marie smiled. “I think I love him, too.”

###

Jean-Luc, Beverly, Robert, and Marie sat in the living room talking about where they would like to go. René began fussing, and Robert offered to take him for a change. Marie checked his diaper before handing him off. She watched her friend leave before blushing slightly.

"See, I told you." Beverly nodded after her brother-in-law.

"You did." Marie turned red and looked uncomfortably at Jean-Luc. "I wish I'd met him before."

 "I believe this is my cue to leave." He kissed his wife before picking up his son. "I'll go make sure Maman and Papa know we won't be home for dinner." He grinned on his way out of the room.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all, but Jean-Luc is giving us some privacy so I can finish my story from group." She made a face and rolled her eyes. "Jack was just like your ex-husband. When I told him I was pregnant, he left. He didn't leave as quickly as yours did, but he certainly left.  It took me months to realise Jack didn’t actually want a child, but once I found out, I immediately filed for divorce."

 "You would never know looking at how Jean-Luc treats Wesley.  Honestly, I had no idea when we first met.”

 "Jean-Luc is Wesley’s father in every way that matters." Beverly came to sit next to her friend.  “Jack isn't a secret. So many know I was married to him when I became pregnant and about our divorce and marriage to Jean-Luc, but there's no reason to mention him, because he's..." Beverly shrugged.

"Not worth talking about?"

"Exactly. We just don't feel it's necessary information to share with everyone.  And actually, before Jean-Luc and I were married, a lot of my friends on the base thought Jean-Luc was my husband because of the way he had always treated me.  Jean-Luc had monthly meetings on the base and would always stop and visit me to spend the night before returning to his ship and he would always take me out for a nice dinner, or to see a show if there was a visiting theatre troupe." Beverly smiled, remember all the good times she and Jean-Luc had together. It was quite easy for her to simply erase Jack from ever being part of her life.  She knocked her shoulder against her friend and grinned "We should go find our men and see what trouble they're up to."

“With a four-month-old and a three-month-old?” 

“You realise they’re brothers, right?”  Marie laughed. 

Beverly and Marie found their partners upstairs in the nursery.  Both babies were on the floor, crawling and the brothers were egging on the babies.  Beverly put her hands on her hips and looked at her husband. “Do  I want to know?”

“The kids are racing.” 

“Racing?”  Beverly raised an eyebrow.  “They’re babies.  More like, you and your brother are trying to one up each other with your babies.”  Jean-Luc grinned and leaned over to kiss his wife. “Sorry?”

Beverly rolled her eyes and kissed him back. “Are we ready to go?” 

Jean-Luc nodded. “Maman offered to babysit the boys if we wanted to go out just the four of us....” 

“Let me go check if I have any breastmilk in the freezer for Wesley. Marie, if you need to pump, you can use our bedroom for some privacy.”  Marie blushed. “I don’t have a pump.”

“Oh!  Uhm...  Jean-Luc,”  Beverly batted her eyes at her husband.  “Can you go out to the shuttle and use the replicator for me?” 

“Sure. What did you need?”

“A breast pump for Marie.  I could let her use mine, but she might as well have her own.”  Marie shook her head at her friend. “No, I couldn’t....” 

“Fine, then you can have my old one and Jean-Luc will replicate a new one for me.  I’ll help you get it set up.”  Beverly ushered her friend into the bedroom and closed the door.  “It’s easy to use.  Trust me.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave both babies with Yvette and Maurice?” 

“Marie, they raised both Jean-Luc and Robert.  They might not be as close in age to our boys, but I’m sure they can handle two boys.  Besides,  you know Yvette keeps calling Rene her other grandson.”  Marie blushed.  “I know. It’s...nice.” 

“Right then, I’ll leave you to pump in peace.”  Marie caught her friends hand before she left. “Thank you.”

###

Jean-Luc finished loading their belongings into the small shuttle. The trip to Caldos would take nearly a week, but Wesley was older and had something to keep him occupied this time, and he was sleeping better and for longer stretches at a time.  They really couldn’t put off their visit to Caldos any longer.  Not that Felisa was upset with them for not visiting yet, but unless they decided to take additional leave, they needed to be back on the base just after Wesley’s first birthday to finalise Beverly’s move onto the _Stargazer._ With a week in the shuttle to Caldos, two weeks on the planet, and another week back to Earth, that would only leave them with three more months on Earth.  Funny, they hadn’t planned on spending their full leave on Earth, but Beverly enjoyed spending time in his childhood home.  He checked to make sure the travel crib was firmly locked in place before joining his wife and son on the lawn to bid  a temporary farewell to his parents, brother, Marie and Rene.

 Jean-Luc  wondered how the other couple's relationship would progress without them around.  Jean-Luc knew his brother was still a bit sore after his divorce and didn’t want to push Marie into anything in case she was still reeling from her own divorce, but it was obvious they both cared deeply for one another and Robert certainly had taken a shine to Rene.   Beverly had assured him that Marie cared for his brother, too, but was cautious due to her own situation.  Somehow, knowing that one Picard brother had readily accepted the child from another as his own bolstered Beverly’s confidence that Robert would be just as accepting of Rene. 

Yvette pulled Jean-Luc into his arms and kissed his cheeks.  “We’ll see you in a month?”

“Count on it, Maman.”

“Good. I will miss my little boy.”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes. “ _Maman!_ ”

“Not you,”  Yvette patted his cheek.  “I meant my grandson.” 

“Oh, I see where I fall in the pecking order.”  Jean-Luc took Wesley from Beverly’s arms to free her to hug her friend good-bye and placed the boy in his grandmother’s arms.  He clapped his brother on the shoulder as he watched his mother with his son.  “Just you wait. Maman is going to insist on being Rene’s grandmother.  Are you willing to take that on and become his father?” 

“Before....no. But after seeing how you are with Wesley and how Maman and Papa are accepting him as their grandson...yes, I think I would like to be Rene’s father and Marie’s husband.”  Jean-Luc’s eyes glinted. “Better ask her then!” 

“I plan on it...but I think we probably need to talk, first.”

“Well, I’m only a sub-space call away if you need me.”  Robert smiled at his younger brother. “Thank you, Jean-Luc.  Have a safe trip.”

“Thanks.” 

Jean-Luc and  Beverly finished their goodbyes and headed into the shuttle.  Beverly secured Wesley in the babyseat before taking her own seat in the co-pilot chair.  “Ready to visit your nana?”

“Not really, but it has to be done.”

###

Maurice looked out the window into their yard and watched as his eldest son bent over a 7-month old boy. He had the little one's fists in his hands as he "helped" the infant take steps.

"I wonder if Robert realizes Rene is too young to walk?" Maurice chuckled as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips. His wife came and wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"He knows." She smirked as she pinched his stomach lightly. "As if you didn't do the same thing with your sons and you didn’t watch Jean-Luc do the same with Wesley just last week."

"Is Rene Robert's son?" Maurice sighed. "They spend so much time together, yet they are never alone." He patted Yvette's hands where they clasped over his stomach. "Always with Rene. I have to wonder if he's just being nice to her, or if he feels something for her?" He shrugged. "Does a man in love spend all of his time with his lady's child?"

 "Yes." She nodded as she pointed to the walk where Marie was coming up. "Watch."

Maurice watched as Robert swung Rene into his arms. Marie walked to them and leaned in to kiss her son on the cheek before Robert put his hand on her shoulder and leaned in to kiss her. She took Rene from Robert before standing on her toes to kiss him once more.

Yvette and Maurice watched as the couple conversed and moved away from the window when they saw their son and Marie coming their way. Maurice sat innocently at the table, letting Yvette refill his barely-touched coffee.

"Marie is going to change Rene, then we're going for lunch." Robert looked between his parents. "Do you need anything while we're out?"

"Just for you to finally buy that woman a ring." Maurice groused at his son and then winked. "Why don't you go tell her we'll take care of Rene for a few hours. Take her out, just the two of you."

"Papa, Maman, I don't want to burden you..."

 "Stop." Maurice held up his hand. "It's never a bother to spend time with either of our grandchildren." He gave Robert a pointed look. "That boy will be my grandson, won't he?"

"We haven't talked about it yet." Robert ran his hand nervously on the back of his neck.

"What haven't we talked about yet, Robert?"

Marie stood in the door and Robert stretched out his hand, taking the diaper bag from her shoulder out of habit. "Papa and Maman would like us to go to lunch by ourselves."

"We always go by ourselves." She looked at the three of them in confusion.

"No, my dear." He took her hand and kissed it gently. "They will keep Rene while we go out."

 "Are you sure?" She looked between Maurice and Yvette with wide eyes.

 "Of course I'm sure." Maurice stood and took Rene from her arms. The little boy clapped and patted the old man's cheeks. "We like to spend time together, don't we? Besides, we still have everything from when Jean-Luc, Beverly, and Wesley were here. Rene can play with Wesley’s toys and if he gets tired, the crib is still in Jean-Luc’s old bedroom. It’s been quiet around here with them gone." Yvette had a wistful look in her eyes.  The small family had gone to visit Beverly’s grandmother on Caldos for a month, and then they would be back for the remaining three months of their leave, though Jean-Luc was making noises about scheduling regular visits once they were on the _Stargazer._

“He shouldn’t get hungry while we’re out, but if he does...”  Yvette smiled at the young mother.

“There’s some pureed carrots in the freezer still.  Beverly and I made plenty. Now go out and enjoy yourselves.” 

Marie and Robert left several minutes later after promises from the Picards that they would call Robert should any problems arise. They were walking out of the house when Robert's face flushed and Marie bit her lip at a question she wasn't sure she should have heard.

"How long do you think it will be before your Papa admits he loves your Maman and you become a Picard?" Yvette tweaked Rene's nose as she spoke, and the little one squealed with delight.

###

Jean-Luc grinned at his parents on the screen. “Maman, Papa.  Someone wants to say hello to you,” 

Maurice grinned when Beverly appeared and placed Wesley on Jean-Luc’s knee.  Wesley immediately began babbling at his grandparents on the screen.  Yvette smiled. “ _Bonjour, Wesley. J’taime.”_

Behind Yvette, another little voice began to babble.  “Are Marie and Rene over?”  Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows at his parents. 

“We’re babysitting Rene for a few hours so they can go out to dinner on their own. They should be back soon though if you want to say hello to your brother.”  Yvette went and picked up Rene and held him on her knee. “But in the meantime, we might as well let the little ones talk to each other.  They’ve been practically inseparable since the  day Beverly met Marie.” 

“I know,”  Jean-Luc frowned. “I’m going to hate taking Wesley away from his first friend when we have to go back to the _Stargazer_.” 

“You’ll work something out, I’m sure.  Visits several times per year, at least.”  Jean-Luc nodded and could hear the back door opening in the background and Robert’s voice. “Ah, they’re home now.  Robert, come say hello to Jean-Luc and Beverly.” 

Robert and Marie appeared and Marie smiled at seeing Rene babble to Wesley.  “You know, he doesn’t make much noise on his own, but put him and Wesley together and it’s like the two of them have their own language.” 

“Dada!” Wesley said excitedly, pointing at Jean-Luc.  Jean-Luc grinned. “That’s right Wes. I’m your dada.  Can you point to Mama?”  Wesley pointed to Beverly and then clapped his hands, proud of himself.  Rene wanted to play too. “Dada!”  He copied Wesley, and pointed at Robert. 

The small family in La Barre fell silent, and Marie’s eyes filled with tears.  “Good job,” she cleared her throat. “Good job, Rene.” 

“Mama!”  Rene pointed at her.  Marie smiled and picked up Rene from Yvette’s lap and cuddled him close. “Will you excuse me?  Jean-Luc, Bev....good to see you,”  Marie choked out before she fled the room with Rene in her arms.

“Robert, is she alright?”  Robert nodded. “I think...well, I don’t think she quite realised how much we care for her and Rene.  Jean-Luc, can I call you later tonight? I think  I had better go talk to Marie.”  Jean-Luc nodded. “We’ll be in the shuttle for another day, so use this frequency.”

###

Marie was just outside. She had made it to the bench by the back door before nearly collapsing. She held her little boy close as she cried. She _did_ love Robert, but should she be encouraging her son to call him ‘dada’ _?  Was Rene just copying his slightly older friend, or did he really think Robert was his father? I suppose...Robert has been there for Rene.  Rene’s actual father hasn’t even bothered to see him....and Rene saw Jean-Luc and Wesley together and Robert does the same things with him that Jean-Luc does with Wes...or am I reading too much into this?_ Marie kissed the top of Rene’s head and heard the back door open in the background. 

"Marie." Robert spoke quietly, his voice full of emotion, as he crouched before her.  Marie looked up. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her face streaked with tears, but Robert thought she was beautiful.  He planned on telling her she was every day for the rest of his life if she would let him.  He reached out a hand and gently wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Robert, I am so sorry. I didn't know he..." her words broke off with a sob. "It's alright." He moved and sat next to her, gently taking Rene from her arms. He settled Rene so the little boy could see out into the vineyard before wrapping his free arm around her. He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Robert?" Yvette stood in the doorway. He looked up as Marie ducked her head, almost as if trying to dodge disparaging words that hadn't been said. _"Oui?"_

 " _Laisse-moi prendre René pour que tu puisses parler."_ Robert nodded.  It would be a good idea to talk with Marie without Rene around to distract them.  He rose, passing the tot to his mother. The two shared a whispered conversation before Yvette disappeared back into the house with her hopefully new grandson.

 Robert sat back down next to Marie and wrapped his arms around her. " _J'aime le fait qu'il m'appelle son papa. Marie, je ..._ " he paused when Maurice came through the door. He motioned for Robert, and the younger man gratefully retrieved the ring he'd shown his parents several days ago.  He hadn’t been sure when it would be the right time and would have preferred something more romantic than while Marie was crying, but then he smirked as he remembered Jean-Luc’s story of his proposal to Beverly .

He sat back down next to Marie and put his arm around her again and pressed another kiss to her temple. " _Marie, je suis désolé de ne pas t'avoir fait comprendre à quel point je t'aime, toi et René. Combien nous faisons tous."_ Her eyes snapped to his face as he apologized for not letting her know how much he and his parents cared for her and her son. _"Je ne peux pas vous dire à quel point ça me fait plaisir que René m'appelle son papa."_ It was true. Robert wanted to be Rene’s father and loved spending time with him.  Whether it had to do with seeing Jean-Luc with Wesley, he didn’t know, and he didn’t care.  He wanted Rene to call him his father, and he wanted Marie to be his wife. He took a deep breath and Marie gasped when he knelt before her. " _Marie, veux-tu m'épouser?"_ He opened the small box and held the ring up to her.

 _"Oui."_ Her voice barely reached his ears, but the joy on her face was unmistakable. He slid the ring onto her finger before leaning forward and sealing their engagement with a passionate kiss.


End file.
